Business News Stories
How will a shrinking population affect the global economy?
It has been described as a demographic catastrophe. The Lancet medical journal warns that a majority of countries do not have a high enough fertility rate to sustain their population...
photo: AP / Rafiq Maqbool, File
Italy further cuts Monte dei Paschi stake, raises €650m
Italy has sold a further 12.5% stake in bailed-out lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena, pocketing €650m and advancing plans to re-privatise the world's oldest bank after a failed first attempt in 2021. The transaction, carried out through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure (ABB), is part of Rome's...
photo: Creative Commons / TuscanyFirenze01 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:TuscanyFirenze01
Permian Basin: Chevron and Exxon compete for top oil producer in US
Oil and gas mergers, largely in the Permian Basin spiked last year as companies sought to consolidate assets in the booming region, according to a government report issued last week. Corporate mergers and acquisition (M&A) were valued at about $234 billion in 2023, the report read, outpacing every...
photo: Creative Commons / Tony Webster
3 ways Apple’s monopoly lawsuit could change the iPhone experience for fans
When Apple launched its first Mac computer in 1984, with its iconic Mac smiley-face “hello” greeting, it wanted to differentiate itself in the fledgling PC market. The Mac was approachable with its friendly, innovative design – Apple’s way of setting the Mac apart in the confusing PC landscape. That...
photo: AP / Jeff Chiu, File
Fed officials are now considering fewer rate cuts this year
Americans hamstrung by high borrowing costs on car loans, mortgages and credit cards shouldn’t expect much of a break this year. That’s because some Federal Reserve officials are reconsidering forecasts they made three months ago that called for three rate cuts this year. Currently, the Fed’s target...
photo: Creative Commons / AgnosticPreachersKid
EU investigates Apple, Meta and Google owner Alphabet under new tech law
Apple, Google’s parent company and Meta are being investigated by the EU for potential breaches of the bloc’s new laws designed to police anti-competitive behaviour by big technology firms. The trio face significant fines if they are found guilty of breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a...
photo: AP
Higher chocolate prices part of wider trend as climate, other factors disrupt supply
Higher chocolate prices this Easter after bad crops on the other side of the world are just the latest example of disruptions in the food supply chain, a trend experts say consumers are noticing in growing numbers. “I think people are becoming more interested in where their food comes from,” said...
photo: Creative Commons / Marco Verch
Nike inflicts huge home defeat on Adidas by nabbing German soccer team kit deal
Things have gone from bad to worse for Adidas. After a costly break-up with US rapper Ye that helped push the German sportswear giant into a rare loss last year, it’s now suffered a bruising defeat on home turf. The German Football Association (DFB) announced Thursday that the company’s arch rival...
photo: AP / Chris O'Meara
Reddit shares end trading up 48% in market debut
Social media platform Reddit's shares ended their first day of trading in New York up 48%, suggesting that investor appetite for initial public offerings of promising yet loss-making companies could be returning. Reddit, which has not turned an annual profit since launching in 2005, lured investors...
photo: Creative Commons
Chinese internet giant Tencent posts lowest annual profit since 2019
BEIJING — Chinese internet giant Tencent on Wednesday posted its lowest annual profit since 2019, despite slight improvements recently in China's economy and a more lenient attitude taken by regulators towards the tech sector. Tencent's total net profit for 2023 stood at 115.2 billion yuan ($16...
photo: AP / Mark Schiefelbein, File

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