Category: Business

Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

By KRUTIKA PATHI and ADAM SCHRECK Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — G20 leaders paid their respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi as their summit came to a close Sunday, a day after the group added a new member and reached agreement on a range of issues but softened language on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Group of 20 rich and developing nations welcomed the African Union as a member — part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to uplift the Global South. And host India was also able to get the disparate group to sign off on a final statement despite pointed disagreements among powerful members, mostly centered on the European conflict.

India also unveiled an ambitious plan with the United States, the European Union and others to build a rail and shipping corridor linking it with the Middle East and Europe in a bid to strengthen economic growth and political cooperation. Continue reading

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By JANIE HAR Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Silicon Valley billionaires behind a secretive $800 million land-buying spree in Northern California have finally released some details about their plans for a new green city, but they still must win over skeptical voters and local leaders.

After years of ducking scrutiny, Jan Sramek, the former Goldman Sachs trader spearheading the effort, launched a website Thursday about “California Forever.” The site billed the project as “a chance for a new community, good paying local jobs, solar farms, and open space” in Solano, a rural county between San Francisco and Sacramento that is now home to 450,000 people.

He also began meeting with key politicians representing the area who have been trying unsuccessfully for years to find out who was behind the mysterious Flannery Associates LLC as it bought up huge swaths of land, making it the largest single landholder in the county. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer

LONDON (AP) — Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe must comply with one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people see online.

The European Union’s groundbreaking new digital rules took effect Friday for the biggest platforms. The Digital Services Act is part of a suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc — long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants.

The DSA is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that’s either illegal or violates a platform’s terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans’ fundamental rights like privacy and free speech.

Some online platforms, which could face billions in fines if they don’t comply, already have made changes. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By CHINEDU ASADU, GERALD IMRAY, FARAI MUTSAKA and PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Business has vanished at Kingsley Odafe’s clothing shop in Nigeria’s capital, forcing him to lay off three employees.

One culprit for his troubles stands out: The U.S. dollar’s strength against the Nigerian currency, the naira, has pushed the price of garments and other foreign goods beyond the reach of local consumers. A bag of imported clothes costs three times what it did two years ago. The price these days is running around 350,000 naira, or $450.

“There are no sales anymore because people have to eat first before thinking of buying clothes,” Odafe said.

Across the developing world, many countries are fed up with America’s dominance of the global financial system — especially the power of the dollar. They will air their grievances next week as the BRICS bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet with other emerging market countries in Johannesburg, South Africa.

But griping about King Dollar is easier than actually deposing the de facto world currency. Continue reading

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By Creshonda Smith | Wealth of Geeks undefined

The first US bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), “BITO,” began trading in October of 2021, attracting more than $1 billion in assets in the first few days. It’s one of the most heavily traded ETFs in market history.

Cryptocurrencies have been making waves in the financial world. ETFs have long appealed to investors for their diversification benefits, low costs, and stock-like trading convenience.

The possible introduction of a Bitcoin ETF holds significant implications for the market. It increases accessibility, enabling investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without the complexities of directly holding the cryptocurrency. This milestone could attract traditional investors who value the regulatory oversight offered by ETF structures. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer

Airbnb said Thursday its second-quarter profit jumped more than 70% over last summer, to $650 million, as revenue rose on strong bookings for summer-vacation rentals.

The San Francisco company said bookings grew 11% over the same period last year. Still, they were a bit lighter than analysts expected.

The shares fell about 1% after three hours of late trading.

Airbnb has been battling complaints that high cleaning fees have pushed prices closer to, or even above, hotels for short rentals. It changed its site to display cleaning fees upfront, when consumers are price-shopping.

Prices, however, remain stubbornly high. Airbnb had forecast that average rates customers pay per night would fall slightly in the second quarter compared with last year. Instead, the average nightly rate rose 1% to $166. Continue reading

Read time : 5 mins

Level : Intermediate

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation, but higher interest rates designed to fight inflation are casting a shadow as they make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, invest and spend.

The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, compared with the first three months of the year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday.

That’s an improvement over zero growth in the first quarter and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year — but not by much. Plus, one-time factors and an outsized bump from Ireland made things look better than they really were.

The eurozone got a boost by 0.5% growth in France and 0.4% in Spain, where lower inflation has helped lift consumer spending power.

Yet the French figure was increased by the delivery of one very large manufactured item — a cruise ship. That statistical quirk flattered French growth but does little to disguise weak demand for goods in the eurozone’s second-largest economy. Continue reading