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Vitol, the world's biggest trader, has increased its total equity to $26 billion even after paying $5 billion in record dividends after earning $15 billion in 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

Top global energy traders face multibillion cash quandary

Most trading houses, which are privately owned and controlled by their employees, disclose little about their cash position, equity or dividends.
A new future initiative aimed at training foreign workers is part of a broader strategy to address pressing labor shortages in Japan.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2024

Japan eyes training foreign workers amid labor shortages

The proposed training system will supersede the current foreign technical internship system.
Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and Republican presidential candidate, speaks at her election night watch party in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2024

Trump campaign dismisses Haley after South Carolina win

The former president has easily swept all five Republican nominating contests thus far, winning states in the Midwest, Northeast, South and West.
Light trails left by moving traffic in the Yeouido financial district of Seoul
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

South Korea unveils corporate value-boosting plan to replicate Japan

The plan to push companies to improve management and corporate governance has disappointed due to a lack of enforcement and concrete details.
Customers shop at the GU store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York. The brand's operator Fast Retailing hopes to expand its share in markets in the United States and Europe.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Uniqlo’s sister brand GU takes aim at market in U.S. and Europe

International sales made up more than half of Uniqlo’s revenue in the latest fiscal year, GU has mostly only flourished domestically.
Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Warren Buffett endorses Japan trading firms in letter, boosting shares

Buffett’s letter to stakeholders said that the five trading companies have reduced the number of their outstanding shares at "attractive” prices.
China saw a record six months of outflows from the equity market until this month, while foreign direct investment is at a 30-year low.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

China’s quant clampdown risks damaging fragile markets for years

Beijing's changes made it hard for quant funds' data-reliant models to outperform the market, and even resulting in repeated wrong predictions.
Asahi Group Holdings chief executive Atsushi Katsuki
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Asahi eyes overseas acquisitions to quadruple sales of Super Dry beer

Spurred on by the need to seek growth outside of the shrinking home market, Japanese firms went on an overseas buying spree worth ¥8.1 trillion last year.
Flags of the Solomon Islands and China near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing in last July
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2024

China’s expansive diplomatic network still outstrips that of U.S.

Beijing had a larger footprint last year than Washington in key areas of geopolitical interest including the Pacific, East Asia and Central Asia.
Smoke rises from the Posco steel mill in Pohang, South Korea.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

South Korea’s biggest polluters made millions from carbon sales

Seoul was one of the first in Asia to start an emissions-trading system, but it has fallen short of encouraging industrial polluters to reduce pollution.
Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala addresses the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

WTO seeks modest outcome in UAE at 'critical juncture' for global trade

The stated goals is to set new global commerce rules, but even its ambitious chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sought to curb expectations.
A man claimed Amazon promised "unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming” of entertainment through Prime Video. He alleges the company reneged on the deal and is suing.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2024

Amazon shouldn't be swindling users

The tech giant is being sued for charging subscribers more than advertised: Not what you'd expect from a self-professed customer-obsessed company.
Tech behemoths have lavished their CEOs with astronomical salaries under the guise of retaining top talent, instead of spreading the wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2024

Tech CEOs need to start sharing the wealth

The time has come to curb Big Tech's market power and establish the mechanisms to prevent the benefits of technological innovation from being monopolized.
A screen in Tokyo shows the level of the 225-issue Nikkei stock average after it posted an all-time closing high on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

Japan’s Nikkei index sets record high for second consecutive day

The Topix was also up 0.49%, closing at 2,673.62.
People take pictures of the city skyline lit up by drones during a performance to welcome the Lunar New Year of the Dragon, at Marina Bay in Singapore on Feb. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 26, 2024

Singapore embraces AI to solve everyday problems

Ranked the fifth most innovative country by the GII last year, Singapore was an early adopter of AI, releasing its first national strategy in 2019.
Visnu CEO Ryosuke Chiba explains an AI-equipped security camera his company is developing for the city of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 22.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2024

Japan firms look to AI to bolster disaster prevention and mitigation

Tools are being developed to focus on getting timely information to the relevant parties to facilitate evacuation.
The climate risks sparked by AI-driven computing are far-reaching — and will worsen without a big shift from fossil fuel-based electricity to clean power.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 27, 2024

AI is exploding data center energy use. A Google-created technique may help.

Data centers and transmission networks collectively contribute up to 3% of global energy consumption, with emissions comparable to the entirety of Brazil.
Japan's consumer price index for January rose 2% from a year ago, topping estimates to support the Bank of Japan's move to end its negative interest rate policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 27, 2024

January inflation topped forecasts, data shows, supporting BOJ policy shift

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2% from a year ago, while prices of processed food gained 5.9% and prices for lodging increased by 27%.
A Boeing Co. 737 Max airplane on the production line at the company's manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, in March 2019
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024

Boeing's safety culture slammed by FAA after 737 Max midair door loss

An expert report shows the work still to be done at Boeing despite efforts to overhaul its culture after fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.
Hankyu's new PRiVACE carriages will feature spacious seats arranged in three rows, equipped with partitions, reading lights, and power sockets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024

Hankyu railway to launch new premium seat service on Kyoto Line

The new PRiVACE carriages will feature spacious seats arranged in three rows, equipped with partitions, reading lights, and power sockets.
People walk past the booth of an AI chip company at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 27, 2024

SoftBank, Nvidia and Microsoft team up to use AI in mobile base stations

The alliance aims to work together in preventing communications congestion and promoting the use of smartphone apps using generative AI.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a home run during the fifth inning of a preseason game against the White Sox on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 28, 2024

'Shotime' arrives for Dodgers as Ohtani homers in preseason debut

"Definitely a big first step," Ohtani said after the game. "The biggest thing was that I was able to finish off the game without any problems."
Banks can boost their productivity by as much as 30% using generative AI over the next three years, according to analysis from consultancy firm Accenture.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 28, 2024

Bankers will see three-quarters of the workday transformed by AI

The world’s biggest banks have been experimenting with AI, spurred on by the promise that the technology will boost productivity and cut costs.
Toyota's domestic sales for January fell for the first time in 13 months as a data-rigging scandal at its small-car unit Daihatsu led to a production halt of some Toyota brand cars the unit made.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024

Toyota Group sales lose steam amid fallout from test data scandals

Domestic sales for January fell for the first time in 13 months while worldwide production fell 3.8%, the first global decline in 13 months.
A Honda CR-V e:FCEV on display at H2 & FC Expo in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024

Honda to sell plug-in hydrogen vehicle in North America, Japan

Japan's second-largest carmaker hopes to ease drivers’ anxiety over finding hydrogen stations by adding electric recharging capabilities.
DeNA plans to co-develop Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket with Creatures Co. for launch on both iOS and Android devices this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024

Shares in DeNA soar on announcement of new Pokemon trading card game

The smartphone game was one of a flurry of announcements on the 28th anniversary of the first Pokemon game release.
An employee at the Apita Kisarazu shopping mall in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture. Pan Pacific International Holdings, the parent company of the firm that operates Apita, abolished its rules on hair color in 2022 following requests by its employees.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024

Japan's retailers and restaurants ease dress codes amid labor shortage

More and more companies have abolished in-house rules prohibiting colored hair and piercings to help with hiring and retain staff.
While Tokyo and Washington have maintained strong ties under U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida amid intensifying concern over China’s regional ambitions, Japanese officials are still hedging their bets by sending out feelers in the event of another term under Donald Trump.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

Ex-senior Trump official reassures Tokyo over possible comeback

A former deputy assistant to the ex-president swatted away concerns, saying Trump's 2024 White House bid "is a very different effort than 2016."
Nissan is planning an autonomous vehicle ride-share service for Japan with a 2027 launch date to address a lack of taxi drivers due to the nation’s aging population.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024

Nissan plans 2027 driverless ride-share service for aging Japan

Nissan will trial the service in Yokohama's Minato Mirai area, with 20 vehicles equipped with a safety monitor in each driver’s seat.
The new national security law will target crimes including treason, theft of state secrets, espionage, sabotage, sedition and "external interference" including from foreign governments. The Hong Kong legislature, which is dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers, is expected to approve it.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

Hong Kong moves toward enacting tougher security law amid concerns about freedoms

Lawyers and activists say the law criminalizes basic human rights such as freedom of expression, but Hong Kong authorities say the new law is necessary.

Longform

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