BUSINESS

Indonesia launched its first electric vehicle battery plant on Wednesday, President Joko Widodo said, as Southeast Asian countries move to gain a foothold in the emerging industry.

The AI revolution is upon us with companies around the world looking to jump headfirst into the technology made famous by ChatGPT. To satisfy their generative AI urge, firms need to secure state-of-the-art software and ramp up computing power, which quickly brings them knocking on the doors of the globe's cloud computing giants, of which Amazon's AWS is the biggest.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to lower prices for diabetes and weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, saying firms must stop "ripping off the American people."

The dollar rose Tuesday and Asia equities were mixed as investors weighed the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency after last week's poor debate performance by incumbent Joe Biden.

Air France-KLM warned Monday that the Olympic Games would lead to a drop in revenues of up to 180 million euros ($193 million), due to a decline in travel to Paris over the summer.

Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of United States Steel has been a source of unease in Pittsburgh, where the metal once dominated the economy and still looms large in the collective psyche.

The EU accused Facebook owner Meta on Monday of breaching the bloc's digital rules, paving the way for potential fines worth billions of euros.

US aircraft manufacturer Boeing said Monday it had reached a "definitive deal" to buy its subcontractor Spirit, which has faced scrutiny over production quality control in recent months.

The crucial role of the private sector was discussed during a workshop organized by the UAE's General Secretariat of the National Committee on SDGs and the UN Global Compact.

Nike reported higher profits due to cost-cutting efforts Thursday, but shares fell sharply on the company's tepid outlook despite a hoped-for boost from the upcoming Olympic Games.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Thursday urged investors to get behind cutting-edge climate technologies he says would drive a "green industrial revolution" and a next wave of global prosperity.

A US investigative authority sharply rebuked Boeing for sharing details about an ongoing probe of a near-catastrophic aviation incident that were not supposed to be discussed publicly.

Shares in H&M slid Thursday after the world's second biggest fashion retailer warned that the conditions to meet its profitability target for this year have become "more challenging".

This agreement, announced at an official signing ceremony held at the Chamber Tower in Abu Dhabi, aims to help businesses grow by providing advanced communication solutions, digital services, rewarding offers, unique packages, and more.

At its plane factory near Seattle, Boeing has increased employee training, appointed mentors for new recruits, brought back retirees as coaches and stepped up tracking of performance metrics.

Fully autonomous cars are still years away from hitting the streets, but internationally-agreed rules on their use could be ready by mid-2026, the United Nations has said.

The yen edged back slightly Thursday after hitting a 38-year low against the dollar, putting investors on alert for a possible intervention by Japanese authorities, while investors awaited US inflation data that could spark another round of volatility.

Adidas said Wednesday two employees had left the company as the German sportswear giant investigates bribery allegations in China.

German auto giant Volkswagen will invest $5 billion in US electric vehicle maker Rivian and create a joint venture expected to produce technology used by both automakers, the companies announced Tuesday.

Asian equities edged higher Tuesday after recent losses as investors ignored another tough day for tech titans on Wall Street that has raised concerns about a correction in markets following a string of record highs.

The program will guide SMEs through the digital transformation process, covering strategic planning, technology adoption, and organizational change management to help them achieve sustainable growth in a fast-changing business world.

Chemical maker Covestro said Monday that it entered "concrete negotiations" with Emirati national energy firm ADNOC after the German group received a takeover offer worth nearly 12 billion euros ($12.8 billion).

Asian and European markets were mixed Monday after last week's poor run as investors look ahead to the release of key US inflation data, while eyes are on Japan as the yen sits around three-decade lows.

The announcement came after a lengthy investigation which found that Kaspersky's "continued operations in the United States presented a national security risk due to the Russian Government's offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kaspersky's operations," it added.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) -- which excludes volatile fresh food prices -- rose 2.5 percent year-on-year, compared with the 2.2 percent logged in April by the internal affairs ministry.

If a compromise is not reached between Brussels and Beijing, the European Commission will impose extra tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric vehicles it says have benefitted from unfair subsidies.

The Bank of England was set to hold its interest rate steady on Thursday despite slowing UK inflation, with higher price risks and Britain's looming election preventing a cut, according to analysts.

British inflation slowed in May to the central bank's two-percent target, official data showed Wednesday, boosting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's struggling election campaign.

A US banking giant fired more than a dozen employees for "simulating keyboard activity," highlighting a battle within productivity-obsessed corporate America to tame a culture of faking work with gizmos such as mouse jigglers.