Mexico announces new $11.3 billion investment plan
Mexico announced Monday a new investment of $11.3 billion in infrastructure projects in cooperation with the private sector to help revive the pandemic-afflicted economy......»»
Pacquiao, Sulaiman honor Filipino champs, eye PH-Mexico tiff
Invited by Manny Pacquiao to the Elorde-Pacquiao Boxing Awards, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announces that he will stage a dual meet involving the Philippines and Mexico.....»»
Chooks experience soars to 1.4 billion reach
Chooks-to-Go Incorporated proudly announces that its Chooks! Experience campaign has reached an astounding 1.4 billion people across leading social media platforms for the calendar year 2023......»»
COP28: US-UAE climate-friendly farming effort grows to $17 billion
The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate announces 27 new projects at COP28, ranging in size from $500 million to $150,000.....»»
ADB announces $10 billion fund for Philippines climate finance
The Asian Development Bank is providing $10 billion in climate finance for the Philippines between 2024 and 2029......»»
US announces $150 mn in new military aid for Ukraine
The United States on Thursday announced a new $150 million military assistance package for Ukraine that includes artillery and small-arms ammunition as well as anti-tank weapons. Washington is by far Kyiv's biggest donor of security aid, committing $43.9 billion since Russian forces invaded in February 2022. But opposition from hardline Republican lawmakers has put future assistance for Kyiv in doubt, and the US government is now relying on previously approved aid in the absence of new funding from Congress. The latest package "utilizes assistance previously authorized for Ukraine during prior fiscal years," the Pentagon said in a statement. "The Biden administration calls on Congress to meet its commitment to the people of Ukraine by passing additional funding to ensure Ukraine continues to have what it needs to defend itself against Russia's brutal war of choice," the statement said. The package also includes air defense missiles, night vision devices, demolition munitions, and cold weather gear. US officials have spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging a coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded and coordinating aid from dozens of countries. The post US announces $150 mn in new military aid for Ukraine appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Alibaba announces surprise departure of ex-CEO
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has announced the surprise departure of former CEO Daniel Zhang, who had been set Monday to take charge of a key subsidiary as the firm undergoes a major restructuring. Hangzhou-based Alibaba is one of China's most prominent technology firms, with business operations spanning cloud computing, e-commerce, logistics, media and entertainment, and artificial intelligence. After years of turbulence in the Chinese tech sector, Alibaba in March announced the biggest restructuring in its history, dividing itself into six entities, with the goal of listing them on the stock exchange separately. CEO Daniel Zhang was due to take charge of the firm's new cloud computing branch, now a separate entity, on Monday. But two months after announcing his appointment, Alibaba said its ex-boss was no longer with the company. "The board of our Company expresses its deepest appreciation to Mr. Zhang for his contributions to Alibaba Group over the past 16 years," the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where it is listed, late on Sunday. It gave no reason for his departure. Plans for a spin-off cloud computing firm would go ahead, Alibaba said, "under a separate management team to be appointed". The company announced in June that Zhang would be replaced by Joseph Tsai as chairman and Eddie Wu as CEO. The executive played a vital role in the company's success in the past decade, spearheading the now hugely popular Singles' Day shopping festival since its first edition in 2009. Shares in the firm sank nearly 3.5 percent Monday -- the first working day of its new reorganization into six distinct branches. In addition to e-commerce and cloud computing, Alibaba's reach stretches into everything from logistics to media, entertainment and artificial intelligence. But its vast size brought it into the crosshairs of Chinese regulators as Beijing sought to crack down on the tech sector. In 2020, Alibaba became the country's first tech giant to bear the brunt of increased oversight, when authorities called off what would have become one of the most valuable public listings in history -- valued at $34 billion -- for its former subsidiary Ant Group. Ant Group is the owner of Alipay, a mobile payment application widely used in China. One month after officials hit the brakes on its IPO, Alibaba was investigated for alleged anti-competitive practices, then issued a $2.8 billion fine. And in July authorities fined Ant Group nearly $1 billion for breaching banking regulations. The post Alibaba announces surprise departure of ex-CEO appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Taylor Swift announces film of massive ‘Eras’ tour
Didn't score tickets for Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour? Never fear -- the culturally defining juggernaut will hit movie theaters with a concert film released on 13 October. "The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I'm overjoyed to tell you that it'll be coming to the big screen soon," Swift said on social media Thursday. "Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing, and dancing encouraged." The giant AMC movie chain is vowing that each of its theaters across the United States will play the film at least four times a day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Tickets are on sale now. The company said it had upgraded its website and ticketing services to "handle more than five times the largest influx of ticket-buying traffic the Company has ever experienced before." "But AMC is also aware that no ticketing system in history seems to have been able to accommodate the soaring demand from Taylor Swift fans," the statement added, warning that customers may experience delays and outages. Earlier this year botched sales for Swift's wildly popular tour wreaked havoc, prompting a congressional hearing over Ticketmaster's purported anti-competitive practices. And while "Eras" tickets reached thousands of dollars, fans will be able to nab movie viewings at $19.89 for adults, $13.13 for children and seniors, plus tax. As of Thursday morning, the website for AMC showed that opening weekend tickets in the New York area was already close to selling out. A few hours after Swift's announcement, the release of Universal's sequel to the horror classic "The Exorcist" was pushed up a week to avoid clashing with the concert film. "Look what you made me do. The Exorcist: Believer moves to 10/6/23 #TaylorWins," producer Jason Blum posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The 33-year-old Swift wrapped the North American leg of her global tour with four shows in Mexico and will pick back up in Argentina in November, with plans to tour into the end of 2024. With 146 total stadium dates, it is expected she will set the record for the first billion-dollar tour, with trade publication Pollstar estimating she's selling some $14 million in tickets per show. Swift's team does not report box office numbers. The current record-holder is Elton John, whose "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, which began in 2018, ultimately made $939 million. The post Taylor Swift announces film of massive ‘Eras’ tour appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Paramount announces sale of Simon & Schuster for $1.62-B
Paramount Global said Monday it had reached an agreement to sell Simon & Schuster, a top US publisher, to private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion. The proposed sale, if it goes through, will end a years-long effort to sell the prestigious publishing house -- whose authors include Stephen King, Colleen Hoover, and Bob Woodward -- after a tentative deal to sell the company to Penguin Random House for $2.18 billion foundered amid regulatory concerns. "We are pleased to have reached an agreement on a transaction that delivers excellent value to Paramount shareholders while also positioning Simon & Schuster for its next phase of growth with KKR," Paramount Global president and CEO Bob Bakish said in a statement Monday. After the purchase -- which Paramount said will be made entirely in cash -- Simon & Schuster will become a "standalone private company," according to the statement. The publisher will retain its existing leadership. "With KKR's support, we look forward to collaborating on new strategies that will enhance our ability to provide readers a great array of books and to give authors the best possible publication they can receive," Simon & Schuster president and CEO Jonathan Karp said in the statement. The company is the fourth largest of America's "Big Five" publishing companies, which also include HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group USA, and Macmillan Publishers. The post Paramount announces sale of Simon & Schuster for $1.62-B appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
HSBC Announces Over 100% Increase in Net Profit for First Half and $2 Billion Share Buyback
HSBC’s Hong Kong Trade Platform Shuts Down After Three Years of Struggles Hong Kong – In a surprising turn of events, HSBC’s trade platform in.....»»
Argentina announces measures to boost foreign reserves
The Argentine peso lost value on the informal market Monday as the government announced measures to bolster dwindling reserves while it negotiates a loan repayment plan with the International Monetary Fund. The rate on the informal market rose to 550 pesos to the dollar from 528 pesos last week as the government said it would take steps to stimulate exports and discourage imports. Many Argentines see converting their pesos to US currency as their only defense against the ravages of inflation, which hit its highest level in three decades in 2022, finishing the year at 94.8 percent. The country's international reserves, over $44 billion in January, are now at just over $25 billion. In the first half of this year, Argentina's trade deficit was $4.4 billion. The new measures included an official rate of 340 pesos to the dollar for agricultural exports until 31 August -- higher than the official rate of 284 pesos. There are also new taxes on imports. Sergio Massa, economy minister and a presidential hopeful in October elections, told representatives of the agricultural industry -- Argentina's main source of foreign exchange -- the measures were necessitated by "the reality of the moment." This included ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on the repayment of a $44 billion loan, as well as the devastating economic impacts of a record-breaking drought. On Sunday, the government and IMF said they had agreed on "the central objectives and parameters" of a repayment plan. Buenos Aires has not been able thus far to meet the IMF requirements of accumulating international reserves and reducing its fiscal deficit. The post Argentina announces measures to boost foreign reserves appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bayer announces 2.5-billion-euro writedown over herbicide glyphosate
German chemicals giant Bayer said Monday it would take a huge 2.5-billion-euro ($2.8 billion) writedown on the potentially carcinogenic herbicide glyphosate. It warned that the writedown would push it into a 2.0-billion-euro net loss for the second quarter, and lowered its annual outlook. In a statement ahead of its formal results statement to be released next month, Bayer said the past few months had seen further price declines and destocking, especially for glyphosate-based products, plus adverse weather conditions. "Based on the anticipated market development, in particular with respect to the glyphosate business, Bayer also expects to record a goodwill impairment of approximately 2.5 billion euros," it said. A goodwill impairment is a reduction in what the company values its assets at and it impacts the company's current earnings. "This will result in negative Group net income of approximately 2 billion euros for the second quarter of 2023," it said. The European Food Safety Authority said earlier this month it had not found "any critical areas of concern" preventing the controversial and widely used herbicide glyphosate from being reauthorized for use in the EU. Environmental groups lashed out at the announcement, saying there was scientific evidence that glyphosate may cause cancer, poison aquatic life, and can be fatal to key pollinators like bees. The substance has been deemed a "probable" carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Bayer also said it expects second-quarter operating earnings to drop by a quarter to 2.5 billion euros, with sales dropping by 14 percent to 12.8 billion. Bayer will release its detailed results for the second quarter on August 8. For the entire year, Bayer now anticipates sales to decline to between 48.5 billion and 49.5 billion euros on a currency-adjusted basis. Previously it had expected modest sales growth to between 51 billion to 52 billion euros from 50.7 billion in 2022 sales. It now sees operating profits falling to between 11.3 billion and 11.8 billion euros in 2023. This is down from its previous forecast of 12.5 billion to 13.0 billion euros, and the 13.5 billion euros in operating profits posted last year. The post Bayer announces 2.5-billion-euro writedown over herbicide glyphosate appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US announces new $1.3 bn military aid package for Ukraine
The United States on Wednesday announced a new $1.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine featuring air defense systems, anti-tank missiles, drones and other equipment. The package is part of US efforts to meet "Ukraine's pressing requirements by committing critical near-term capabilities while also building the enduring capacity of Ukraine's armed forces," the Defense Department said in a statement. The assistance will not immediately arrive on the battlefield, as it falls under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, under which Washington procures equipment from the defense industry or partners, rather than drawing it from US stocks. The package includes four NASAMs air defense systems and related munitions, TOW anti-tank missiles, 152 mm artillery shells, drones as well as counter-drone systems, and various vehicles. The announcement comes as Ukrainian forces are fighting to advance against invading Russian troops in a slow-moving counteroffensive that Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukraine's president, said Wednesday "will be quite difficult, long and will take quite a lot of time." Podolyak also said that Kyiv's forces need two to three hundred tanks as well as 60 to 80 F-16 warplanes. The Netherlands and Denmark are leading a plan to train Ukrainian pilots on using the US-made aircraft as part of an 11-nation coalition, but the effort is still in its early stages. The pace of Ukraine's advance in the counteroffensive has raised questions about whether it will be successful, but US officials have highlighted the tough obstacles Kyiv's forces must overcome when asked about the pace of advance. Ukrainian troops are facing heavily fortified Russian positions that include complex minefields, tank obstacles, barbed wire and trenches, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told journalists on Tuesday. He also said that Ukraine has "a significant amount of combat power not yet committed." "Right now, they are preserving their combat power, and they are slowly and deliberately and steadily working their way through all these minefields, and it's a tough fight." The United States has spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging an international coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded and coordinating aid from dozens of countries. Washington has committed to providing tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv since Russia invaded in February 2022. The post US announces new $1.3 bn military aid package for Ukraine appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris
India announced a new multi-billion-dollar deal for French fighter jets on Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris for a two-day trip that will see him feted as the guest of honor during France's national day celebrations. India's defense ministry said that the country intended to order 26 more Rafale jets as well as another three Scorpene-class submarines, with the price and other terms still being worked out. India is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, and Modi announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets during a 2015 trip to Paris that was worth around 4.0 billion euros at the time. Some of those Indian-piloted Rafales will take part in a flypast on Friday during France's Bastille Day military parade where Modi will sit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron as guest of honour. "This closeness is not limited to just the leaders of two countries, it is in fact a reflection of the unwavering friendship between India and France," Modi told an enthusiastic crowd of Indians living in France on Thursday evening. Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a counterweight to China in Asia. Macron's red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honor of a White House state dinner in Washington -- a city he was once banned from visiting. "India is one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy," an aide to Macron told reporters this week on condition of anonymity. Human rights But amid the pomp and diplomatic courting in France, a resolution from the European Parliament on Thursday served as a reminder of Modi's controversial leadership style and Hindu nationalist agenda that has critics at home and abroad. Sitting in Strasbourg in eastern France, EU parliamentarians approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country's restive northeastern Manipur state and to protect minorities there. Clashes between the majority Meitei, who are mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe have left at least 120 people dead, 50,000 displaced and over 1,700 houses destroyed, the parliament said. It criticized the "nationalistic rhetoric" of the local state government, run by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi's role during Bastille Day in France was "an affront not only to India's minority communities, journalists and human rights defenders but also to India as a democracy," the text's chief negotiator, Pierre Larrouturou, said. A protest called against Modi drew only a few dozen people in central Paris on Thursday. Strategic partnership Modi has visited France four times since Macron came to power in 2017, while Macron was honored with a state visit to New Delhi in 2018. Aides on both sides have talked up the personal chemistry between the two leaders and pointed to cooperation on climate change, space technology, and nuclear power as part of a 25-year-old "strategic partnership" between France and India. Modi told the French newspaper Les Echos that bilateral trade had doubled in the last nine years and Macron's "thinking really matches ours". India and France "are naturally compatible" and "we see France as one of our foremost global partners," Modi added. Few observers expect Macron to raise rights concerns with Modi publicly. "The fact that explains France's relative success in this relationship is that unlike the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and a few other European countries, you've hardly seen France commenting on the internal affairs of India," Constantino Xavier from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, a New Delhi-based think tank, said this week. "That has been appreciated on the Indian side." Modi has been dogged by allegations he was complicit in religious violence during his tenure as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots. The Indian government and judicial probes have cleared him of culpability. Since his first crushing electoral victory in 2014, he has also been denounced by rights groups for increased discrimination and violence towards the country's Muslims, as well as stifling independent media. "Diversity is the biggest strength of our democracy," he told the meeting on Thursday evening that also lauded the country's economic growth. Many European and American businesses, including US tech giant Apple, are ramping up production there to mitigate the threat of supply chain disruptions from China. The war in Ukraine has heightened concerns in the West about the risk of conflicts disrupting the flow of key raw materials and technology from China, but it has also exposed a rift with India. New Delhi, which has long sought to balance its ties with Moscow and the West, has declined to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top buyer of discounted Russian oil during the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The post India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
World Bank announces $1.49-B aid package for Ukraine
WASHINGTON - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved USD1.49 billion of additional financing for Ukraine, the organization said in a statement.The new financing is part of the total support package of over USD4 billion that the World Bank is mobilizing.The aid include.....»»
LG announces highest 4Q sales, operating profit
LG Electronics Inc. announced a strong year with 2020 revenues of KRW 63.26 trillion ($56.45 billion) and record-setting operating profit of KRW 3.20 trillion ($2.85 billion), an increase of 31.1 percent over 2019, driven primarily by higher sales of premium home appliances and OLED TVs as well as strong growth in vehicle component solutions......»»
Mexico announces new $11.3 billion investment plan
Mexico announced Monday a new investment of $11.3 billion in infrastructure projects in cooperation with the private sector to help revive the pandemic-afflicted economy......»»
Accenture Announces Its Cloud First with $3B Investment
Accenture announced the formation of Accenture Cloud First with a $3 billion investment over three years to help its clients across all industries rapidly become “cloud-first” businesses and accelerate their digital transformation to realize greater value at speed and scale. “COVID-19 has created a new inflection point that requires every company to dramatically accelerate the […].....»»
LG announces 2nd quarter financial results
Seoul— LG Electronics Inc. second-quarter 2020 financial results were affected significantly by the worldwide impact of the pandemic. Consolidated revenue of KRW 12.83 trillion (USD 10.51 billion) was 17.9 percent lower than the same period of 2019, while operating profit of KRW 495.4 billion (USD 405.65 million) declined 24.1 percent from last year’s record second-quarter operating income. The resilient company managed its supply chain and cost structure to weather the storm of the global public health and economic crises. .....»»
Huawei announces 2020 H1 business results
Shenzhen -- Huawei announced its business results for the first half of 2020 today. The company generated CNY454 billion in revenue during this period, a 13.1% increase year-on-year, with a net profit margin of 9.2%.[1] Huawei's carrier, enterprise, and consumer businesses achieved CNY159.6 billion, CNY36.3 billion, and CNY255.8 billion in revenue, respectively......»»
Rockwell seeks bondholders’ consent on amendment
High-end property developer Rockwell Land Corp. announces that it will conduct a consent solicitation exercise for its seven-year and one-quarter P5 billion fixed rate bonds due on Feb.15, 2021......»»