Author: ALJAZEERA

Taichung, Taiwan – When Li Wei took over the running of his father’s glass-making business in northern China’s Cangzhou in 2020, he immediately set about optimising the firm’s operations. Li moved Hebei Yiyue Glass Products’ sole factory from its city location to a site outside Cangzhou, providing better access to important road networks and more space to expand the facility. At the same time, Li changed the primary focus of the company from selling glass components to customers in China to exporting finished glass products to customers abroad. Today, he oversees a successful export business that sells cups, pots and…

Early voting is under way across the United States ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election. Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris have both made last-minute efforts to court union voters – a core voting bloc, especially in swing states like Michigan, where groups like the United Auto Workers (UAW) have significant sway among the electorate. Vice President Harris has garnered endorsements from important unions across the country, including the UAW, AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union. Harris also has the support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union behind the latest Boeing strike, which…

If Elon Musk joins the United States government following a Donald Trump victory in the presidential election, he will be the latest in a succession of billionaire businesspeople to hold public office. From the late Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and former President Trump himself, the super-rich have long held positions of power in Washington, DC and across US state capitals. With polls showing Tuesday’s election on a knife edge, Musk is in serious contention to join Trump’s cabinet after the Republican candidate floated the idea of the…

Former cryptocurrency executive Nishad Singh, who once shared a $35m Bahamas penthouse with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has been spared prison time by a judge for his role in the theft by his imprisoned former boss of about $8bn in customer funds from the now-bankrupt exchange. During a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan imposed no prison time, but ordered three years of supervised release. Kaplan credited Singh for cooperating with prosecutors and coming clean about his actions in what they have called one of the biggest financial frauds in US history. Singh,…

Treasury Department says curbs will ensure US investment does not advance technologies that threaten national security.The United States has finalised rules that limit investments in critical technology sectors in China such as artificial intelligence on national security grounds, the Treasury Department has announced. The restrictions will bar US citizens and permanent residents, as well as US-based companies, from engaging in transactions involving technologies including AI, semiconductors and quantum computing, the Treasury said in a statement on Monday. US investors will also be obligated to inform the Treasury about investments in some less advanced technologies “that may contribute to the threat…

CEO Stefan Kaufmann was asked to resign following internal inquiry, Japanese firm says.The foreign chief executive of Japan’s Olympus has resigned following an investigation into allegations he brought illegal drugs, the medical equipment maker has said. CEO Stefan Kaufmann, who had led the company since April 2023, stepped down at the request of the board of directors, Olympus said in a statement on Monday. Olympus said it initiated the investigation after receiving an allegation from an unspecified source. “Based on the results of the investigation, the Board of Directors unanimously determined that Mr. Stefan Kaufmann likely engaged in behaviours that…

Many unresolved claims remain over the bridge collapse, which killed six people and snarled local shipping for months.The owner and operator of a cargo ship that slammed into a bridge in the United States east coast port of Baltimore earlier this year, collapsing it and killing six people, will pay a $102m settlement for cleanup costs. The settlement, cleared Friday by a United States district judge, settles the US government’s claims against Singapore-based firms Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited. It covers money the US government spent responding to the disaster, including clearing the wreck of the…

The dam collapse unleashed wave of tailings in disaster that killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless, flooded forests.Brazil has signed a 170 billion reais ($29.85bn) compensation agreement with miners BHP, Vale and Samarco for the Mariana dam collapse in 2015, one of the country’s worst environmental disasters. The agreement was signed on Friday. The collapse of the dam at the iron ore mine owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, near the city of Mariana in southeastern Brazil, unleashed a wave of tailings in a disaster that killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless, flooded forests and polluted…

Reports of non-financial misconduct rose 72 percent between 2021 and 2023, according to survey by financial regulator.Allegations of bullying, discrimination and other non-financial misconduct in the UK’s financial sector have soared during the last three years, a survey by the country’s financial regulator has found. Reports of non-financial misconduct rose 72 percent between 2021 and 2023, according to the survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Bullying and discrimination made up the largest share of the 5,380 recorded complaints, accounting for 26 percent and 23 percent of the total, respectively. Another 40 percent of reports related to “other” claims of…

Texas-based company reports $2.2bn profit for July to September, after back-to-back disappointing quarters.Tesla has posted a forecasting-beating profit in the third quarter, breaking a recent streak of disappointing earnings for the electric carmaker. The Austin, Texas-based company on Wednesday reported net income of $2.2bn for the July-to-September period, up 17 percent year on year. Revenue rose to $25.18bn, up 8 percent from $23.35bn from a year earlier. Tesla’s strong earnings were driven in large part by revenue from sources other than vehicle sales. Revenue from charging services, sales of storage batteries, and sales of carbon emissions credits to other carmakers…