finance
EntertainmentAFP NewsHollywood stars don pajamas for pandemic-era 'virtual' Emmys
TV stars picked out their favorite pajamas ahead of Sunday's reinvented, pandemic-hit Emmys, which will see nominees accept prizes live from their homes, with dark superhero satire "Watchmen" tipped to dominate the night.
NewsAFP NewsJudge halts WeChat download ban in US-China tech battle
A US judge on Sunday blocked the government's ban on WeChat downloads, hours before it was due to take effect in an ongoing technology and espionage battle between Washington and Beijing.
NewsAFP NewsFrom foe to friend: how Iran transformed post-war Iraq ties
In the four decades since Iran and Iraq went to war, Tehran has turned enmity into influence, seeing its allies installed in Baghdad's halls of power and becoming its top trading partner.
BusinessAFP NewsTrump touts 'fantastic' TikTok deal with Walmart and Oracle
President Donald Trump said Saturday he had approved a deal allowing Silicon Valley giant Oracle to become the data partner for TikTok to avert a shutdown of the massively popular Chinese-owned video app that Washington has called a security risk.
TechnologyAFP NewsPalantir listing may shine light on secretive Big Data firm
Perhaps the most secretive firm to emerge from Silicon Valley, Palantir Technologies is set for a stock market debut this month that may shed light on the Big Data firm specializing in law enforcement and national security.
BusinessReutersTikTok says it already committed to government oversight of U.S. data security
The ban on new U.S. downloads of the app, owned by China's ByteDance, could still be rescinded by President Donald Trump before it takes effect if the company seals a deal with Oracle Corp that addresses concerns about the security of users' data. TikTok said that in its proposal to the U.S. government, it has already agreed to measures like "third-party audits, verification of code security, and the US government oversight of US data security." The ban is in response to a pair of executive orders issued by Trump on Aug. 6 that gave the Commerce Department 45 days to determine what transactions to block from the apps he deemed pose a threat to national security.
NewsAFP NewsChina launches sanctions regime after US moves on TikTok, WeChat
China on Saturday launched a mechanism that would allow it to sanction foreign companies, upping the ante in a tech war with the United States a day after Washington moved to curb popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat.
BusinessAFP NewsWeChat, TikTok ban is test for open internet, free expression
The US ban on Chinese-owned apps WeChat and TikTok sets up a pivotal legal challenge on digital free expression with important ramifications for the global internet ecosystem.
NewsReutersOil workers flee as third storm in month aims for U.S. offshore fields
Royal Dutch Shell Plc <RDSa.L> halted some oil production and began evacuating workers from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico platform, the company said on Saturday, as a new tropical storm flared. Beta, the 23rd named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the Bay of Campeche and was forecast to gradually strengthen and soak the Texas coast all week, the National Hurricane Center said. The NHC reduced its maximum wind forecast to 75 miles per hour (120 kph), just above tropical storm intensity.
NewsAFP NewsChina launches counter-mechanism to US sanctions list
China said Saturday it had launched a mechanism enabling it to restrict foreign entities, a much-anticipated move seen as retaliation to US penalties against Chinese companies such as telecom giant Huawei.
NewsAFP NewsThe art of the non-deal? Scepticism over Trump's Balkan pact
'Truly historic', 'a real breakthrough' and 'very big' -- US President Donald Trump let the superlatives flow when he announced a deal between Serbia and Kosovo, earning himself a second Nobel Peace Prize nomination this year.
BusinessAFP NewsGoogle briefly removes India payments app for betting violations ahead of IPL
Google Friday removed one of India's biggest digital payment apps for several hours from its online store for breaching gambling rules, a day before the start of the lucrative Indian Premier League cricket tournament.
NewsReutersLibya's Haftar says he will lift oil blockade, with conditions
Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar announced on Friday he would lift for one month his blockade of oil output and said he had agreed with the rival Tripoli government on "fair distribution" of energy revenue. A resumption of oil exports after the eight-month blockade would relieve mounting financial pressure for both sides in the Libyan conflict and could remove a major obstacle towards a political settlement, but it is not yet clear if the declared agreement has wider support. "We are ready to open oil fields, to secure the future of Libya, for one month," Haftar said in a statement distributed by his spokesman after a brief televised broadcast in which he announced that it had "been decided" to resume oil production.
BusinessReutersEU to introduce crypto-assets regime by 2024, EU documents say
The European Union will introduce new rules within four years to make cross-border payments quicker and cheaper through the use of blockchain and crypto assets like stablecoins, two EU documents showed. The European Commission is due to set out its strategy for encouraging greater use of digital finance at a time when 78% of payments in the euro zone are in cash. The EU executive will present a draft law to clarify how existing rules apply to crypto assets and set out new rules where there are gaps, the documents said.
NewsAFP NewsJewish pilgrims quit Ukraine border campout over virus entry ban
More than 1,000 Jewish pilgrims who massed for several days along Ukraine's border gave up hope of entering the country on Friday after being turned back due to coronavirus restrictions.
NewsReutersWith tourists slow to return, Egypt's resorts and ancient sites face tough winter
At Egypt's Red Sea resorts, visitor numbers are well below previous years. Tourism accounts for up to 15% of Egypt's national output, and officials said it was losing around $1 billion each month after the sector all but shut down from March as the coronavirus pandemic struck. Egypt is not alone in seeing tourism slump, but it takes a heavy toll on a country that has tapped the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $8 billion in new loans this year.
BusinessAFP NewsTikTok and WeChat: Chinese apps dogged by security fears
The US Commerce Department has ordered app stores to remove popular Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok and the messaging and payment platform WeChat.
NewsReutersEU looks to fast 5G, supercomputers to boost virus-hit economy
The European Commission on Friday urged the 27-country bloc to work together to speed up the rollout of fibre and 5G networks to boost the region's virus-hit economy and secure its technology autonomy. EU countries should develop a best practices toolbox by March 30 with the aim of cutting cost and red tape, provide timely access to 5G radio spectrum and allow for more cross-border coordination for radio spectrum for 5G services, the EU executive said. The coronavirus outbreak showed how important internet services and 5G are, European digital chief Margrethe Vestager said.
NewsReutersChina aims to operate regular space flights by 2045, official says
China aims to set up a space programme operating thousands of flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tons of cargo and passengers by 2045, state news agency Xinhua quoted an official as saying on Friday. China is trying to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030. Bao Weimin, a senior official at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., told a conference that the planned space flight system would be able to meet commercial demands, according to the Xinhua report.
PoliticsReutersAssange lawyer says she saw Trump ally offer to arrange pardon
A lawyer for Julian Assange told a London court on Friday that she was present when an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump offered to arrange a pardon for the WikiLeaks founder in return for information that would "benefit President Trump politically". Australian-born Assange, 49, is fighting to avoid being sent to the United States, where he is charged with conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law over the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.
BusinessReutersMacquarie prepares intel analytics seller Nuix for $1.5 billion IPO
Australia's Macquarie Group is preparing to list its majority-owned software provider Nuix in a deal that would value the data-analysis program seller at close to $1.5 billion, two sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Friday. Macquarie, which owns about 65% of the company that has been used to analyse thousands of documents as part of high-profile investigations such as Volkswagen's emissions scandal and the "Panama Papers" cases, is handling the process alongside Morgan Stanley, the sources said. Media representatives for Macquarie and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
BusinessAFP NewsLSEG in exclusive talks to sell Milan exchange to Euronext
The London Stock Exchange Group said Friday that it has entered "exclusive" talks to sell Milan's Borsa Italiana to pan-European stock market operator Euronext.
BusinessReutersToshiba says more than 1,000 postal votes uncounted at meeting
Japan's Toshiba Corp on Friday said more than 1,000 postal voting forms for its shareholder meeting went uncounted, and the bank that counted the votes, which carries out a similar job for almost a thousand listed companies, said the oversight may not have been limited to Toshiba. The admissions by Toshiba and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank are likely to deepen concerns about corporate governance in Japan at a time of new political leadership and increased scrutiny by investors. Toshiba said that 1,139 voting forms, representing a combined 1.3% stake, were left out for its annual meeting even though they were delivered before the July 30 deadline to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust, its shareholder registry administrator.
NewsAFP NewsAustralian newswire gets government bailout
Australia's struggling national newswire was promised a Aus$5 million (US$3.7 million) government bailout on Friday, just days after launching a crowdfunding campaign in an attempt to guarantee its survival.
NewsReutersFederal prosecutors file new charges against associate of Trump backer Rudy Giuliani
Federal prosecutors said on Thursday they had filed additional charges against Lev Parnas, a one-time associate of President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who was already facing campaign finance-related charges. Prosecutors said they had charged Parnas and an associate, David Correia, with conspiring to defraud investors in an insurance company they operated. Prosecutors said a superseding indictment also includes fresh campaign finance law violations.
