Author: Press Room

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Alibaba held sway as the Amazon of China for nearly two decades. Launched in 1999 by Jack Ma, it has been China’s most valuable ecommerce group since it listed in the US in 2014.There is a new contender for that title. On Thursday Chinese-owned ecommerce platform PDD Holdings overtook Alibaba, after its market value swelled to $196bn.PDD’s global strategy has paid off. It is best known for the hit shopping app Temu, which is the most downloaded app in the US. The…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: General Motors assembly workers connect a battery pack underneath a partially assembled 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicle on the assembly line at Orion Assembly in Lake Orion, Michigan, U.S., March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo/File By David Shepardson and David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Friday issued-long awaited guidance that will limit Chinese content in batteries eligible for electric vehicle tax credits starting next year. In a win for automakers, the U.S. Treasury will temporarily exempt some trace critical minerals from new strict rules barring materials from China and other countries deemed a…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A BNY Mellon sign is seen on their headquarters in New York’s financial district, January 19, 2011. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) – BNY Mellon (NYSE:) will increase its minimum wage next year to $22.50 an hour from $20 and expand mental health benefits for employees, the bank said in a statement on Friday. The pay boost takes effect in March and is the company’s third in the last three years. The oldest U.S. bank is among the largest lenders increasing minimum compensation for workers. Bank of America raised its minimum hourly wage to $23…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A view shows cooling towers for new third unit at the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant, in Mochovce, Slovakia, September 12, 2022. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File Photo By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union increased imports from Russia of nuclear fuel and services for the bloc’s Russian-designed reactors again in 2023 compared to 2021, the year before Moscow invaded Ukraine, Euratom Supply Agency (ESA) said. While such imports are not subject to EU sanctions, the bloc aims to reduce its dependence on Moscow. Its overall imports from Russia’s nuclear energy industry held steady last year despite rising demand…

Dmitry Vinogradov/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Stock index futures were lower on Friday with Fed chief Jerome Powell speaking in the morning and afternoon. S&P futures (SPX) were -0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures (NDX:IND) were -0.3%, and Dow futures (INDU) were flat. Following a historic November rally, the broader market still has a chance to notch five winning weeks in a row. Going into Friday’s trading, the S&P (SP500) is up 0.2% for the week. The Nasdaq (COMP.IND) is down 0.2%, while the Dow (DJI) is up 1.6%. Powell will speak at a fireside chat at Spelman College at 11 a.m.…

Kentucky State Rep. Kevin Bratcher plans to run for a Louisville Metro Council seat in 2024.The Republican is currently the chairman of a House committee overseeing election legislation and proposed constitutional amendments.Bratcher’s announcement coincides with ongoing recruitment of candidates for next year’s legislative races, where the GOP holds supermajorities.Kentucky State Rep. Kevin Bratcher announced his plans Thursday to run for a Louisville Metro Council seat next year, which would culminate a long statehouse career that put the Republican lawmaker at the forefront of school safety, juvenile justice and a host of other issues.Bratcher has been a fixture in the Kentucky…

LIDO BEACH, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 04: An American Airlines jet flies over Nickerson Beach Park on … [+] September 04, 2023 in Lido Beach, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)Getty Images NDAQ : AAL). AAL is trading at a lower valuation of With 20% Gains This Month Is Alaska Air A Better Pick Than American Airlines Stock? AAL stock has seen a decline of 20% from levels of $15 in early January 2021 to around $12 now. ALK stock has also seen a decline of 20% from levels of $50 in early January 2021 to around $40 now,…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Well, it’s finally here. Sort of. Tesla’s PS1-vector-styled memetruck is available to order now for $60,990 in its most basic form (though at that price it won’t be arriving until 2025 at the earliest and the optional extras include paint, floor mats and a ladder).What Thursday’s Cybertruck launch did do was cause another glut of media stories about Cybertruck. For November Factiva logged 1,072 individual stories in the global English-language press, which made it the third most Cybertrucky month of the year…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Local residents walk along a pedestrian street in Santiago, Chile July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo (Reuters) – Chile’s IMACEC economic activity index rose 0.3% in October from the previous year, the central bank said on Friday, slightly below forecasts. Economists polled by Reuters expected a 0.4% increase. According to the central bank, the result was explained by a slight increase in “the manufacturing and service sector, but partly offset by the decline in mining”. The annual reading marks the fourth uptick for the index this year, with previous positive measurements in January, July and September.…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Shopping trolley is seen in front of Alibaba logo in this illustration, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) – U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba (NYSE:) Group Holding dipped on Friday following a Morgan Stanley downgrade on concerns over slower turnaround in its key businesses, just hours after rival PDD raced past to become the most valuable Chinese e-commerce firm. Alibaba’s U.S. shares slipped 1.5% to $73.7 in premarket trading, tracking a fresh one-year low. They are down 14% since the company posted in line second-quarter revenue and scrapped plans to spin off its cloud business. Meanwhile,…