Meta delays AI chatbot launch in Europe after regulator pushback

Meta delays AI chatbot launch in Europe after regulator pushback

Facebook parent company Meta Platforms will delay its launch of the Meta artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot in Europe after regulators on the continent requested the company pause its plan to train its large language models with posts from users there.  On Monday (Jun 10), Meta announced its intention to start training its LLM, called Llama,…

Read More

First Bitcoin ETF to list on Australia’s bourse in global wave

First Bitcoin ETF to list on Australia’s bourse in global wave

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing directly in Bitcoin will list on Australia’s main stock market for the first time, kicking off another wave of such listings after similar products began trading in the US and Hong Kong. Exchange operator ASX, which handles the bulk of the country’s stock trading, has approved the VanEck Bitcoin ETF…

Read More

Goldman Sachs boosts S&P 500 target on upbeat profit outlook

Goldman Sachs boosts S&P 500 target on upbeat profit outlook

Goldman Sachs Group strategists have boosted their year-end target for the S&P 500 Index for a third time, reflecting Wall Street’s optimistic outlook for earnings growth and the US economy. The bank’s equity strategists led by David Kostin now see the US stock benchmark index finishing the year at 5,600, up from a 5,200 level…

Read More

Fed’s Mester sees inflation risks to upside despite better data

Fed’s Mester sees inflation risks to upside despite better data

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said she still sees inflation risks as tilted to the upside despite welcome news in the latest data. Mester, speaking in print and television interviews Friday at Bloomberg’s New York office, also said the median projection of policymakers’ latest forecasts – which signalled just one interest-rate cut…

Read More

Oil dips, but posts weekly gain on solid 2024 demand outlook

Oil dips, but posts weekly gain on solid 2024 demand outlook

Oil futures prices settled slightly lower on Friday (Jun 14) after a survey showed deteriorating US consumer sentiment, but prices rose 4 per cent for the week as investors weighed forecasts for solid demand for crude oil and fuel in 2024. Brent crude futures settled down 13 cents at US$82.62 a barrel, while West Texas…

Read More

Shanghai allows Tesla to carry out Full Self-Driving pilot

Shanghai allows Tesla to carry out Full Self-Driving pilot

SHANGHAI is allowing 10 Tesla vehicles to carry out tests of the company’s most advanced autonomous driving software to pave way for its rollout in China, local-government-backed The Shanghai Observer said on Friday (Jun 14). A successful rollout of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software would allow Tesla to better compete with local rivals in China,…

Read More

Great Eastern privatisation deal deemed ‘not fair but reasonable’; OCBC says offer price ‘final’

Great Eastern privatisation deal deemed ‘not fair but reasonable’; OCBC says offer price ‘final’

OCBC’s privatisation bid for its insurance arm Great Eastern Holdings (GEH) is not fair but reasonable, the independent financial adviser (IFA) to the deal said on Friday (Jun 14). The IFA said the financial terms of the offer are “on balance, not fair but reasonable”, and advises the independent directors to recommend that shareholders accept…

Read More

China sells 50-year bonds at record-low yield as demand swells

China sells 50-year bonds at record-low yield as demand swells

THE frenzy for Chinese bonds is showing no signs of fading, with the nation’s longest-dated special government notes receiving stronger-than-expected demand at an auction.  China sold 35 billion yuan (S$6.5 billion) of 50-year special government bonds at a yield of 2.53 per cent, according to traders. That compares with an estimate of 2.58 per cent…

Read More