BUSINESS

The survey of economists by AFP estimated growth in the world's number two economy hit 4.9 percent last year, down from the 5.2 percent recorded in 2023.

Blockbuster employment figures on Friday, which followed a better-than-expected read on job openings, reinforced the view that the world's top economy and labor market were still in rude health.

Many economists have warned that Trump's campaign proposals, which included imposing sweeping import tariffs and overseeing the largest deportation in US history, could cause a spike in inflation, forcing the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer.

Even before taking office, Trump has raised the prospect of fresh levies on companies, countries and groups of states as he seeks to implement his agenda.

Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News had earlier reported that Chinese officials were considering selling the company's US operations to Musk's social media platform X.

Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to address parliament Tuesday to try and regain the confidence of markets in the face of rising pressure over the country's struggling economy.

A report saying the incoming US leader's economics team was considering slowly hiking tariffs on imports provided support to traders and put a cap on the dollar's latest surge, while news of fresh curbs on AI chips to China appeared to have little immediate impact.

The equity sell-off tracked hefty losses on Wall Street, where all three main indexes finished more than one percent lower as the new trading year continued to falter.

Overseas shipments represented a rare bright spot for Beijing last year as sluggish domestic consumption and a prolonged crisis in the property sector dragged on growth.

The comments came in a three-way call with the president of the Philippines that according to the White House also touched on China's "dangerous and unlawful" behavior in the region.

The complaint, filed in May 2021, accuses Apple of breaching European and UK competition laws by "its exclusion of any other app stores from iOS devices" like iPhones and iPads.

The top court is holding oral arguments in the case nine days before TikTok faces a ban unless ByteDance divests from the popular app.

Markets have started the year cautiously, with the optimism that characterized most of the past three months dented by concerns about Donald Trump's presidency and the US central bank's hawkish pivot on monetary policy.

Barely two weeks before Trump's return to the White House, Zuckerberg dropped a bombshell Tuesday by pulling the plug on fact-checking at Facebook and Instagram in the United States -- and indicated changes could be coming to Europe too.

Officials announced the probe in July after Brussels began looking into whether Chinese government subsidies were undermining European competition.

A report saying the president-elect was considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal cover to impose tariffs on all imported goods added to the sense of uncertainty on trading floors.

The Chinese electric vehicle market has witnessed explosive growth in recent years, driven in part by generous subsidies from Beijing.

Australia -- which has been at the forefront of efforts to rein in social media giants -- was worried about a surge of false information spreading on social media, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

XPeng's "flying car" and TCL's AI-enhanced television were just a few of the products offered by Chinese companies that have won attention at CES, the annual Las Vegas tech confab.

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was going to "get rid" of its third-party fact-checkers in the United States, in a sweeping policy shift that analysts saw as an attempt to appease US President-elect Donald Trump.

Facebook parent Meta's move into fact-checking came in the wake of Trump's shock election in 2016, which critics said was enabled by rampant disinformation on Facebook and interference by foreign actors, including Russia, on the platform.

With inflation worries already elevated owing to Donald Trump's pledges to slash taxes, regulations and immigration when he returns to the White House, the latest readings added to uncertainty on trading floors.

One of Silicon Valley's more charismatic figures, Altman shot to global fame with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, which ignited a race to advance AI research and development.

The announcement comes after the world's largest memory-chip maker issued a rare apology in October acknowledging it was facing a "crisis" and that questions had arisen about its "fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company"

The new board members were announced as Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been making approaches to the incoming Trump administration, including donating one million dollars to Trump's inauguration fund.

Consumer prices picked up to 2.4 percent last month, as predicted by analysts for Bloomberg and financial data firm FactSet, and up from 2.2 percent in November.

Business groups say the move could have a chilling effect on Japan's standing as the biggest foreign investor in the United States, just as Washington seeks closer relations to counter China.

Most markets rose in Asia on Tuesday following another rally on Wall Street sparked by tech giants as traders try to assess Donald Trump's tariff plans following a report he may take a more targeted approach.

The fast-food giant's announced changes include no longer asking suppliers to commit to certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) targets, withdrawing from external surveys that gauge corporate diversity, and changing the name of its diversity committee.