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Japan's industrial output increased a smaller-than-expected 0.2% in September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2023

Japan's September industrial production growth misses consensus

Factory output increased 0.2% from a month earlier, missing economist expectations of a 2.5% gain.
Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jose Leclerc (left) and catcher Jonah Heim celebrate after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the World Series at Chase Field in Phoenix on Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 31, 2023

Rangers bounce back to down Diamondbacks and lead World Series

The Rangers suffered an early blow when starter Max Scherzer was pulled from the mound after just 36 scoreless pitches with an apparent back injury.
The Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. headquarters in Taiwan
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023

Taiwan's Powerchip chooses Miyagi Prefecture for $5.4 billion fab

The fab will manufacture chips in the 28-nanometer, 40-nm and 55-nm categories with a planned monthly output of 40,000 wafers, the two companies said.
Tomochika Uyama, a senior official of the World Trade Organization, during an interview in Osaka on Sunday
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2023

WTO's Tomochika Uyama eager to restore dispute settlement system

The senior adviser to the body's director-general cited momentum following a two-day meeting of Group of Seven trade ministers in Osaka.
A 23andMe DNA kit
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023

Drugmakers are set to pay 23andMe millions to access consumer DNA

Under the new agreement, 23andMe will provide GSK with access to anonymized DNA data from customers who have agreed to share their information.
A man stands next to a robot in use at ROLEC Gehause-Systeme in Rinteln, Germany on Oct. 6
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023

As baby boomers retire, German businesses turn to robots

Small and medium-sized companies are turning to automation as the gradual retirement of the post-war "baby boom" generation tightens the labor squeeze.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen weakening below ¥151 to the dollar on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2023

Japan ramps up yen intervention warning after BOJ-fueled sell-off

The broad decline toward ¥152 to the dollar has the currency around the threshold that a year ago drove Japanese authorities to swoop in to prop it up.
Becoming the lone bidder for the 2034 World Cup, just 27 days after its campaign was announced, caps a stunning year where the unheralded Saudi Pro League has snapped up some of soccer's top stars including Cristiano Ronaldo (center).
SOCCER
Nov 1, 2023

Bridging the Gulf: How the World Cup is key to Saudi revamp

While human rights controversies have not gone away, the kingdom is gaining a reputation for extravagant forays into sport.
The front entrance gate leading to the former Ashigakubo Elementary School in Yokose, Saitama Prefecture. The school, which was more than a century old, was forced to close in 2009.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2023

School's out forever in aging Japan

As the number of children in Japan decreases, public money has been made available to help municipalities repurpose old schools.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The yen unexpectedly weakened after the central bank loosened its grip on bond yields Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2023

BOJ’s Ueda gets reality check on yen in march to normalization

The yen unexpectedly weakened after the central bank loosened its grip on bond yields Tuesday.
Buffaloes reliever Yuki Udagawa pumps his fist after striking out Tigers shortstop Seiya Kinami in the eighth inning of Orix's 5-4 win in Game 3 of the Japan Series on Tuesday at Koshien Stadium.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 1, 2023

How Yuki Udagawa’s steely nerves quieted Koshien’s raucous crowd

Instead of being rattled, Yuki Udagawa fed off the electric energy pulsating through the stadium as he protected a one-run lead in a 5-4 win.
The interior of a Toyota Global HiAce electric vehicle concept on display during the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 26
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2023

Toyota to invest $8 billion more in U.S. battery plant for EVs

The auto giant has quietly laid the groundwork for a more robust EV strategy in the U.S. even as sales of its hybrid gas-electric models are surging.
Jesse Ehrenfeld, the board chairman of the American Medical Association, in Chicago in 2019. The F.D.A. has approved many new programs that use artificial intelligence, but doctors are skeptical that the tools really improve care or are backed by solid research.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 1, 2023

Doctors wrestle with AI in patient care, citing lax oversight

Are AI programs likely to identify something a doctor would miss?
Toyota President Koji Sato speaks  next to an FT-3e electric vehicle at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 25.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2023

Toyota raises profit forecast 50% on weak yen, record sales

With an unprecedented 5.6 million vehicles sold in April-September, Toyota is on track for its 11.4 million-unit goal.
Hulu was founded in 2007 as a joint venture between News Corporation and NBC Universal, with Disney joining soon after as a partner.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 2, 2023

Disney to complete takeover of Hulu with $8.6 billion deal

The acquisition comes as the company strives to boost subscriber numbers at its Disney+ streaming service.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda in a news conference on Tuesday, when the central bank adjusted its cap on bond yields.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 2, 2023

Japan's yen and bond priorities at odds as market pressure grows

Unscheduled bond purchases by the Bank of Japan Wednesday worked directly against Finance Ministry efforts to support the yen.
Lionel Messi jerseys, in Inter Miami’s distinctive pink color, for sale at the Adidas store in Manhattan in September. In the span of three months, the soccer superstar has made Inter Miami’s eye-catching pink jersey the hottest piece of sports merchandise on the planet.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 2, 2023

Adidas and Puma eye 'sports culture' market as soccer courts fashion

The Women's World Cup showed huge unmet demand for soccer-related merchandise for women, with the trend extending to fashion-conscious fans of both sexes.
The midway in Springfield, Massachusetts, lit up at night. Framingham, Massachusetts mayor Charlie Sisitsky said its geothermal pilot project could more than halve emissions and cut energy consumption for some properties by up to 70%.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 2, 2023

U.S. cities expand geothermal energy to whole neighborhoods

The U.S. federal government is to back 11 pilot geothermal projects.
The world's largest pension fund lost 0.31% for the three months from July to September, trimming its overall assets to ¥219.3 trillion.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 2, 2023

Japan's GPIF reports ¥683 billion loss in July-September period

The news comes as a policy tweak by the central bank hits the government bond market.
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023

Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind

Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference about a new economic stimulus package in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2023

Kishida unveils ¥17 trillion stimulus package amid pushback

A supplementary budget proposal — worth a total of ¥13.1 trillion — to back the package will be submitted to parliament in the upcoming weeks.
U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell during a news conference in Washington on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 3, 2023

Global central banks mark a possible plateau

Policymakers in Frankfurt, London and Washington uniformly say rate cuts won't be on the table until price pressures are truly contained.
Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried leaves court following a bail hearing ahead of his October fraud trial, in New York City on July 26.  He was found guilty on all counts against him on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all counts at fraud trial

The panel reached its decision after five weeks of trial, and the former crypto tycoon now faces up to 110 years behind bars.
Kyoto Financial Group's early bets on Nintendo and other Kyoto-based startups are now bringing huge gains to the regional bank.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 3, 2023

Early bets on Nintendo and Nidec yield big gains for Kyoto bank

Kyoto Financial Group has equity holdings worth almost ¥903 billion thanks to investments made decades ago.
Participants pose for photos at a news conference ahead of the Gay Games in Hong Kong on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 3, 2023

First Gay Games in Asia set to begin, despite pushback

The event, which features both LGBTQ and heterosexual athletes, will see 2,381 people compete in sports including football and badminton.
Nippon Steel has dropped lawsuits against Toyota and Mitsui & Co. over electrical steel sheet patents.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 3, 2023

Nippon Steel drops patent lawsuits against Toyota and Mitsui

Having two of Japan's manufacturing giants locked in a rare court battle signified the high stakes involved in materials production.
A construction crane beyond an apartment building at dusk in the Prenzlauer Berg district in Berlin, in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 3, 2023

Europe’s great housing crisis is only getting started

With housing already tight, the situation threatens to weigh on growth and further stoke political tensions as shortages squeeze more and more voters.
Major banks are set to raise interest rates on time deposits amid a rise in long-term government bond yields.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 3, 2023

Major Japanese banks begin to raise time deposit rates

Deposit rates have been at extremely low levels for many years under the BOJ's massive monetary easing.
U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 4, 2023

Biden jabs at China 'debt-trap diplomacy’ at Americas summit

In a summit with other Western Hemisphere leaders, Biden cast the U.S. approach as a healthier alternative for countries seeking global investment.
A stock board in Beijing last month. China’s benchmark CSI 300 has slumped 7.4% as a faltering economy dashed optimism over the nation’s reopening from COVID-19 restrictions.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 4, 2023

Japan’s fading rally drives some investors to cheap China shares

Japanese stocks have trounced their Chinese peers this year, but some investors are betting the tide is about to turn.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?