Asian and European markets rose Thursday following a surge on Wall Street fuelled by hopes that the Federal Reserve could slow its pace of inflation-fighting interest rate hikes.. The prospect of a slower pace of rate hikes weighed on the dollar against most other currencies, and on Thursday it hit its lowest level against the yen since July 6.
The United States is set to release key data on economic growth Thursday and global investors are watching closely as the world's largest economy flirts with recession -- while President Joe Biden walks a political tightrope.. Nevertheless, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its growth forecast for the United States earlier this week -- and said a recession may already have begun.
Troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande has found a potential buyer for its Hong Kong headquarters, reports said Thursday, days before an expected announcement of the firm's long-awaited restructuring plans. . But on Thursday, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the difficulties of Chinese developers would have a "very limited" impact on the financial hub's banking stability.
Throngs of 18-wheelers are the clearest sign of brisk activity at the Port Newark-Elizabeth marine terminals in northern New Jersey, defying talk of a US economic slowdown.. "Volumes continue to be extremely strong," said Michael Bozza, assistant director of commercial development at the Port of New York and New Jersey, who nonetheless expects a moderation in activity later in 2022, partly due to inflation.
South Korean chip powerhouse Samsung Electronics said Thursday that second-quarter operating profits were up 12.18 percent, with record profits in its system semiconductor division despite global supply chain woes.. The company's "system semiconductor businesses... achieved a record high quarterly profit," Samsung said in a statement, adding it had both expanded its product line-up and increased the supply of chips to global customers.
Facebook-parent Meta reported on Wednesday its first quarterly revenue drop and a plunging profit as the social media powerhouse battles a turbulent economy and the rising phenomenon of TikTok. . Meta has also faced turbulence as it tries to adapt its platforms to better battle short-video app TikTok, which is threatening the Silicon Valley giant's primacy.
Vegetarian "steak" has been spared the knife in France after a court delayed a government bid to ban the use of meaty terms to describe plant-based products.. In October 2020, the European Parliament rejected a move to ban the use of terms of animal origin for plant products -- except when words like "yoghurt", "cream" or "cheese" are applied to products without animal milk.
Ford shares zoomed higher Wednesday as the US auto giant reported increased second-quarter profits on a surge in auto sales that more than offset the hit from higher costs.. The Michigan company had already disclosed a jump in second-quarter US auto sales that bucked the declines reported at other carmakers amid the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday again raised the benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point in its ongoing battle to tamp down raging price pressures that are squeezing American families.. In a vote that was unanimous -- unlike the decision made in June -- the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised its benchmark lending rate to a range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent, after starting the year near zero.
After months of back-and-forth, Spirit Airlines announced Wednesday that it was breaking off a merger with Frontier Group, opening the door to a possible takeover by JetBlue.. The Spirit-Frontier deal, announced in February, was thrown into doubt in early April when JetBlue Airways unveiled its own takeover bid and subsequently launched a hostile takeover bid as smaller carriers try to gain scale to take on the biggest US airlines.
