Business news

Business

Green subsidies may have hidden costs, experts warn

Government subsidies for business practices and processes should be approached with caution, even when they seem to be environmentally friendly, writes a group of scientists and economists in this week's Policy Forum in the ...

Business

Google is working on reasoning AI, chasing OpenAI's efforts

Google is working on artificial intelligence software that resembles the human ability to reason, similar to OpenAI's o1, marking a new front in the rivalry between the tech giant and the fast-growing startup.

Business

PFF adds an in-game grading feature to its NFL analysis

Pro Football Focus changed how many fans followed the NFL by providing grades and advanced statistics to help quantify how every player performed on a play-by-play basis from high-profile quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes ...

Business

Australian retailers urged to step into the future with smart technologies for customers

While self-service technologies in the Australian retail space were initially brought on to create convenience, the self-checkout counters have become the bane of many shoppers' existence.

Business

Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures

Dutch airline KLM on Thursday announced a sweeping package of "firm" cost-cutting measures it hopes will lead to a boost in operating profits of around 450 million euros ($496 million) "in the short term."

Business

Historic funding round values OpenAI at $157 billion

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, secured $6.6 billion in new funding, propelling its valuation to $157 billion and cementing its position as the world leader in artificial intelligence.

Business

Oracle to invest $6.5 bn in Malaysian cloud services region

Tech giant Oracle on Wednesday said it plans to invest more than $6.5 billion on cloud services data centers in Malaysia, joining a list of US titans rushing to build up their AI infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

Business

Tech industry urges G7 to unify cloud security standards

A leading tech industry group on Tuesday called on G7 nations to harmonize cloud security certification across the world's richest nations, in an effort to stoke cooperation and counter calls that data should stay within ...

Business

Google to invest $1 billion in Thailand

Google plans to invest $1 billion to build digital infrastructure in Thailand, including a new data center, the US tech giant has announced, saying the move would support 14,000 jobs in the kingdom.

Business

High costs slow widespread use of heat pumps in UK, study shows

The high cost of installing heat pumps for home heating could slow down people widely adopting the technology and leave government targets missed, research suggests. There has been a little to no reduction in the average ...

Business

'It's robbery': Salvadorans slow to adopt Bitcoin

Two years ago, El Salvador shrugged off a chorus of warnings and adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in a bid to revitalize its economy and improve access to financial services.

Business

Google to require political ads to disclose AI creations

Google on Wednesday said it will mandate that political advertisements on its platforms disclose when images and audio have been altered or created using tools such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Business

Google faces £7 bn claim on behalf of UK consumers

Google is facing a new lawsuit in Britain, which accuses the US tech giant of stifling competition in the search engine market and causing prices to rise across the UK economy, a statement said Thursday.

Business

EU hits tech titans with tougher market restraints

The European Union on Wednesday unveiled a list of digital giants—including Apple, Facebook owner Meta and TikTok parent ByteDance—that will face tough new curbs on how they do business, but the move could trigger a wave ...

Business

Norway court rejects Meta bid to defer ban

A Norway court on Wednesday rejected US tech giant Meta's request to defer a ban on behavioral marketing based on users' personal information, which has landed it a heavy fine in the country.

Business

UK reassures big tech over new encryption rules

The British government on Wednesday gave guarantees to instant messaging platforms over concerns that they could be forced to monitor encrypted messages for harmful content.

Business

Music firm Universal announces streaming overhaul

The world's biggest music publisher Universal, whose catalog includes artists from Taylor Swift to the Beatles, announced a deal on Wednesday it says will shake up the way artists are rewarded for streaming.