Browsing: Business

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 11, 2025: The United States Department of Commerce has announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on pasta imported from Italy that could raise total tariffs to more than 100 percent, significantly impacting one of the largest categories of Italian food exports to the U.S. market. According to the Department’s findings, Italian producers have been selling pasta in the United States at prices below fair market value. The investigation covers 13 companies, including major exporters such as La Molisana and Pasta Garofalo, during the review period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. The preliminary rate of 91.74 percent is set to apply to…

NEW YORK, November 10, 2025: U.S. stock markets experienced notable declines this week as concerns over elevated valuations in artificial-intelligence linked stocks and a broader technology pull-back weighed on investor sentiment. On Thursday the S&P 500 fell 1.1 % to 6,720.32, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8 % to 46,912.30 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.9 % to 23,053.99. Technology and semiconductor stocks, including major players linked to artificial-intelligence applications, led the losses. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, used as a key gauge for the chip sector, declined around 2.4 %. Market commentators noted that the S&P 500’s technology weighting is now about 36 %,…

Global stocks advanced as tech shares rebounded and the US Senate moved to end the shutdown, lifting investor sentiment worldwide.

SEATTLE, Nov. 4: U.S. coffee chain Starbucks Corporation has agreed to sell a majority stake of its China operations to Chinese investment firm Boyu Capital in a deal valued at approximately US $4 billion. Under the agreement announced Monday, Boyu will acquire up to a 60 percent interest in Starbucks’ retail operations in China. Starbucks will retain the remaining 40 percent and will continue to own and license its brand and intellectual property to the newly formed venture. The agreement formalises the creation of a joint venture to operate Starbucks stores in mainland China. The enterprise value of the portion being acquired by Boyu is based…

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2025: A striking divergence between the U.S. labour market and financial markets is drawing attention from economists analyzing recent data. According to figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and market-trackers, job-vacancy levels peaked at approximately 11.5 million in March 2022 and have since fallen to about 7.18 million by August 2025, representing a decline of nearly 30 %. At the same time the S&P 500 index rose from roughly 3,840 to nearly 6,700 a gain of about 70 %. Economist Derek Thompson has identified this unfolding pattern as “the scariest chart in the world”. He writes that this…

NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2025: Pfizer Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that exceeded market expectations and raised its full-year profit forecast despite continued declines in sales from its COVID-19 products. The results reflected solid cost management and stronger performance from key non-COVID medicines, which helped offset falling pandemic-related revenue. For the quarter ended September 30, Pfizer posted total revenues of US$16.65 billion, a 6 percent decrease from US$17.70 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company said the operational revenue decline, excluding foreign exchange effects, was approximately 7 percent. Reported net income for the quarter was US$3.54 billion, compared with US$4.47 billion in…

Amazon hits record high as OpenAI signs $38B deal to use AWS cloud computing power for advanced AI infrastructure.

OMAHA, Nebraska, November 1, 2025: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Saturday reported a 34 % increase in operating earnings for the third quarter of 2025, raising the figure to approximately $13.5 billion. The results reflect growth across the company’s wholly-owned businesses, including insurance, railroads and manufacturing. The underwriting profit in the insurance segment climbed sharply to about $2.37 billion, an increase of more than 200 % from the same period a year earlier. This boost came amid fewer catastrophe losses and strong claims performance across the insurance operations. Meanwhile, the company disclosed that it did not repurchase any of its own Class A or Class B…

BUSAN, South Korea, October 31, 2025: A new trade arrangement between the United States and China was announced during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, reflecting a pause in bilateral tensions but leaving major disputes unresolved. The agreement includes short-term tariff relief and a one-year extension of rare earth exports from China to the  United States, but lacks permanent commitments or mechanisms for enforcement. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit to formalize the deal, which lowers U.S. tariffs on a range of Chinese goods from an average of 57 percent to 47 percent. Tariffs on Chinese exports linked…

SEATTLE, Oct. 31: Amazon Inc. on Thursday reported third-quarter results for the period ended September 30, 2025, showing net sales of US$180.2 billion, a 13 percent increase from US$158.9 billion in the same period a year earlier. Excluding a favorable foreign-exchange impact of about US$1.5 billion, sales rose approximately 12 percent. The North America segment recorded sales of US$106.3 billion, up 11 percent year-on-year, while the international segment logged US$40.9 billion in sales, up 14 percent (10 percent excluding currency effects). The cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), posted revenue of US$33.0 billion, representing a 20 percent increase compared with the…