Business

BLOOMBERG The trade ministers of China and Japan exchanged protests over chip export controls and the detention of Japanese citizens at a meeting in Detroit, according to statements from both governments. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao complained about Japan’s chip export curbs and a Group of Seven “attack” on China during a meeting with Japanese Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura in …

BLOOMBERG South Korea will avoid capitalising on China’s ban on a US chipmaker, seeing the move by Beijing as an attempt to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington, according to a person familiar with the situation. The South Korean government won’t encourage its memory-chip firms to grab market share in China lost by Micron Technology Inc, which has been …

BLOOMBERG German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner are thrashing out a plan to close a €20 billion ($22 billion) shortfall in the 2024 budget with expenditure cuts in all departments except defense — a move which risks angering their coalition partners, the Greens. Scholz and Lindner have agreed to spending reductions of 2% to 3% for almost …

BLOOMBERG  India’s shorter-maturity bonds rallied and money market rates eased on bets that a withdrawal of the nation’s highest value currency note would leave banks with surplus cash to invest. As much as 1 trillion rupees ($12.1 billion) may be added to India’s financial system as authorities remove 2,000 rupee notes from circulation, according to QuantEco Research and Kotak Mahindra …

MUSCAT / GULF TIME Represented by The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT), The Sultanate of Oman celebrates on Thursday, the International Museum Day, which falls on 18th May of every year. This year celebration comes under the theme of “Museums, Sustainability and Well-Being”, a slogan announced by the International Council of Museums, to highlight the potential of museums around …

KUWAIT / GULF TIME Abbey’s Productions continues to achieve consecutive successes by producing television series admired and watched by millions of viewers in the Arab world. During the holy month of Ramadan this year, the company topped the Ramadan race through the much-loved series “Manzel 12″ and “Saqata Sahwan” series. Garnering premium and advanced position on global digital platforms and …

BLOOMBERG Emmanuel Macron made his pitch that France is a leading hub for foreign investments and electric cars directly to Elon Musk, as the president seeks to attract global businesses. Macron and Musk, the head of electric-car maker Tesla Inc and the world’s second-richest person, discussed prospects for development in the electric vehicle and energy sectors at the presidential palace, …

BLOOMBERG A gauge of New York state manufacturing activity slumped in May by the most in more than three years as orders and shipments shrank abruptly. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index dropped 42.6 points to minus 31.8 in May, data showed. Readings below zero indicate contraction and the gauge was weaker than all estimates …

BLOOMBERG The European Commission raised its euro-zone inflation outlook and warned of “persistent challenges” even as it acknowledged the resilience of the region’s economy. Citing the strength of underlying pressures, European Union (EU) officials lifted their projections for consumer-price growth to 5.8% this year and 2.8% in 2024 from 5.6% and 2.5% respectively. Forecasts for economic expansion were also increased …

NEW DELHI / WAM With an eye of markets in the Gulf, India is to expand the cultivation of dragon fruit by more than 16 times, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare here has announced. To help augment this effort, the ministry has authorised the setting up of a Centre of Excellence for dragon fruit cultivation in Bengaluru in …