Posts by Mark Darwin
Microsoft’s US$13 billion OpenAI pact faces extra EU scrutiny
MICROSOFT’S US$13 billion investment into OpenAI is set to come under added scrutiny from European Union’s (EU) antitrust watchdogs, who are poised to quiz rivals about the AI firm’s exclusive use of Microsoft’s cloud technology. Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s antitrust chief, is expected on Friday (Jun 28) to rule out an investigation under…
Read MoreGSH Corporation opens 200-room upper-upscale hotel in Chongqing
The development is part of the group’s first integrated hotel and residential project in China GSH Corporation has officially opened its first upper-upscale hotel in Chongqing, China. The development is part of the group’s first integrated hotel and residential project in the country, said the mainboard-listed property developer in a bourse filing on Friday (Jun…
Read MoreAircraft delivery delays having ‘brutal’ impact on Lufthansa: CEO
AIRCRAFT delivery issues are having a “brutal” impact on Lufthansa and will not be resolved before the end of the decade, according to CEO Carsten Spohr. Speaking at the business press club in Stuttgart late Thursday (Jun 27), Spohr said the aircraft shortage could be costing Lufthansa some 500 million euros (S$726.2 million) a year,…
Read MoreChina Three Gorges invests US$11 billion in desert power projects
The firm will construct a 16-gigawatt project that integrates renewable power and coal, combined with a 5-gigawatt storage facility China Three Gorges Renewables Group, a unit of the country’s biggest hydropower generator, will invest US$11 billion to expand its solar and wind fleets at a major clean energy base in the nation’s interior. The firm…
Read MoreRinggit rebound set to ride on recovering exports, Fed rate cuts
Bank Negara Malaysia says the ringgit has “significant potential to appreciate and be among the top beneficiaries of US rate cuts” The Malaysian ringgit is set to extend gains into the remainder of the year as exports recover and the Federal Reserve eventually pivots to interest rate cuts. The ringgit has been the top performer…
Read MoreSoftBank raises US$1.86 billion overseas as it boosts AI bets
SOFTBANK Group raised about US$1.86 billion via US dollar and euro bond sales in its first foreign currency debt deal since 2021, as the Japanese tech firm moves to jump-start investment in artificial intelligence (AI). Billionaire Masayoshi Son’s company said it priced two US dollar tranches on Thursday (Jun 27) totalling US$900 million and two…
Read MoreMicrosoft informs customers that Russian hackers spied on e-mails
RUSSIAN hackers who broke into Microsoft’s systems and spied on staff inboxes earlier this year also stole e-mails from its customers, the tech giant said on Thursday (Jun 27), around six months after it first disclosed the intrusion. The disclosure underscores the breadth of the breach as Microsoft faces increasing regulatory scrutiny over the security…
Read MoreAfter oil, Russia may now be building a shadow fleet for gas
IN THE months that followed its invasion of Ukraine and punitive Western restrictions imposed in response, Russia amassed a shadow fleet to ferry its oil around the world. Now there is growing evidence Moscow has begun to do the same for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Gas is key to the Kremlin’s plans to boost exports,…
Read MoreGold prices heads for quarterly rise; spotlight on inflation data
GOLD prices edged lower on Friday (Jun 28) but were headed for their third consecutive quarterly rise, while investors looked towards key US inflation data due later in the day that could throw some light on the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rate cuts. Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at US$2,321.39 per ounce,…
Read MoreTesla’s design changes confuse drivers and undercut EV quality
TESLA no longer stands above other electric vehicles (EVs) in quality because head-scratching design changes on its cars, such as removing turn-signal stalks, have frustrated its owners and lowered its score in a bellwether quality survey. Long the EV quality leader, Tesla now is on par with rivals such as Rivian Automotive and the battery-powered…
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