The US trade gap widened in September after five straight months of decline, government data showed Thursday, on cooling food and energy exports while imports of products like semiconductors and consumer goods picked up.. In September, the overall trade deficit widened to $73.3 billion, up from a revised $65.7 billion figure in August, Commerce Department data showed.
Europe must act immediately to prevent a shortage of natural gas next year as Russia slashes deliveries in the wake of the Ukraine war, the International Energy Agency warned Thursday.. The IEA said the shortfall would occur if Russia stops pipelines deliveries completely and China steps up its imports of liquefied natural gas, which Europe has relied upon to replace Russian supplies.
Norway, the largest oil producer in Western Europe, on Thursday announced it intended to cut 1990 emissions levels "at least 55 percent" by 2030, in line with EU goals.. Norway's climate target was previously to reduce emissions by between 50 and 55 percent of 1990 levels.
The lockdown of Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory, the world's biggest producer of iPhones, has highlighted some of the risks of relying on zero-Covid China's manufacturing sector, analysts told AFP. Foxconn, Apple's principal subcontractor, has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases at its Zhengzhou site, leading the company to lock down the vast complex in a bid to keep the virus in check.. Foxconn is China's biggest private sector employer, with over a million people working across the country in its around thirty factories and research institutes.
Turkish inflation surged past 85 percent in October, its highest level since 1997, official data showed Thursday, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sticks to unorthodox policies to combat a cost-of-living crisis.. The October surge was fuelled by a 117 percent rise in transportation prices and a 99 percent jump for food.
British schoolgirl Lowri Moore is just 13 but has achieved a lot in her short life, championing children who like her wear glasses.. "We are in touch with a professor who works in Botswana to give children glasses and he said that most of the children that get glasses don't want to wear them for fear of being different and not cool," Lowri told AFP. - 'Biggest fan' - She said that without glasses you need, "you won't be able to learn and that will limit your job options and you will probably really struggle in life all because you didn't wear your glasses.
Asian markets sank Thursday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates and boss Jerome Powell suggested they would go higher than expected, blowing a hole in hopes for a more dovish pivot in its fight against inflation.. However, Powell soon after sent traders scattering when he told a news conference that while it would be appropriate to lessen the size of the hikes, "incoming data since our last meeting suggests that ultimate level of interest rates will be higher than previously expected".
The Bank of England is widely expected to hike its key interest rate on Thursday by the biggest amount since 1989 as it bids to cool sky-high British inflation.. The Bank of England started raising rates last December and another hike Thursday would be the eighth increase in a row.
The road ahead for Twitter remained as murky as ever after new owner Elon Musk said Wednesday that it could take weeks to reinstate banned accounts -- such as that of former US president Donald Trump.. Twitter users have been watching closely to see whether Musk will reinstate Trump, banned for inciting last year's attack on the Capitol by a mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and other deplatformed users.
The Federal Reserve delivered another steep interest rate increase on Wednesday, as expected, with its move to cool red-hot inflation taking on more weight amid the political maelstrom ahead of key US midterm elections.. While the housing market has cooled sharply amid higher borrowing costs, key inflation measures show prices continue to rise and the labor market remains tight, with job openings rising and private hiring accelerating in October.
