BUSINESS - Page 26

A recent evening in Cairo, a worker cleaned tables in an empty McDonald’s restaurant. Branches of other Western fast-food chains in the Egyptian capital also appeared deserted. All have been hit by a largely spontaneous, grassroots boycott campaign over Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip since the deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The campaign has gained traction in Egypt and Jordan, and there are signs the boycott is spreading in some other Arab countries as

On Friday, Nissan will announce that it will build the electric versions of its Qashqai and Juke models at its plant in Sunderland, northern England, in a project expected to safeguard thousands of jobs. The carmaker will commit hundreds of millions of pounds to the project, Sky News reported on Wednesday. The British government is expected to provide guarantees, the report added. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt are involved in discussions with Nissan, it

The European Union is set to clear Amazon’s (AMZN.O) $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot (IRBT.O), three people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The deal is expected to be approved without conditions, despite concerns by the EU’s competition regulator that it would restrict competition in the market for home robotic cleaners and boost Amazon’s position as an online marketplace. Antitrust enforcers around the world have stepped up scrutiny of Big Tech acquiring smaller rivals, concerned about

Germany’s Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) unveiled a 2.1-billion-euro ($2.3 billion) impairment on its steel unit due to a “gloomy” outlook, highlighting the challenge in efforts to win Czech energy group EPH as a co-owner for the business. The industrial conglomerate said it would write off the fixed assets at its Steel Europe division, a crucial part of its turnaround strategy. The company cited cost overruns at two plants in Brazil and Alabama, where it has been unable to find buyers, as the

Italy’s Enel (ENEI.MI) plans to spend 35.8 billion euros in gross capital expenditure in the next three years but be “more selective” on investments in renewables, the Group’s new chief executive said on Wednesday. The power group will direct more capital to networks with “fair and stable” regulatory frameworks, leveraging access to European financing while being less intensive in capital and risk in renewable energy. It will also invest more in client business, aiming to increase invested capital profitability by

With EV makers in China waging an intense price war to prop up slowing demand, Chinese brands with strong hybrid lineups are emerging as winners. The popularity of extended-range hybrid vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is growing at twice the rate of pure EV sales this year, according to data from the country’s top car producers. As a result, the segment now accounts for nearly half of all new energy passenger vehicle shipments in mainland China. The

On Sunday, the board of ChatGPT creator OpenAI rejected pressure from Microsoft and other significant investors to reverse its stunning decision to fire CEO Sam Altman, US media reported. The nonprofit lab rocketed to fame with the launch of ChatGPT last year, showcasing advances in generative artificial intelligence that set off a gold rush in the sector. The tech boom has raised concerns that the technology could be used to spread falsehoods, violate copyright protections, and upend jobs. It has

Days after General Motors? (GM.N) Cruise self-driving car unit pulled all of its vehicles off the roads in the United States for a safety review; it continues to test them on public roads in Dubai and Japan, Reuters has learned. The pause in American operations was prompted by a fatal accident that caught the attention of regulators after one of its autonomous vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian in October. Cruise said this week it had paused all car trips

The billionaire has been battling with the Anti-Defamation League over his use of Twitter and other platforms. He has been accused of amplifying antisemitism, and significant advertisers, including Apple and Disney, have paused their ads on X. On Friday, the White House publicly criticized Musk, accusing him of repeating a “hideous lie” behind the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre in which 11 people were killed by a gunman who believed in an antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews were behind the deaths of

On Friday, electric truck maker Nikola said that Chief Financial Officer Anastasiya Pasterick would resign to “pursue other opportunities” less than a year after joining the loss-making company. The Phoenix-based company expects to wrap up its search for a new CFO soon, and Pasterick will assist with a transition through Dec. 1. Key financial leaders will report to CEO Stephen Girsky in the interim. Shares of Nikola and other electric-vehicle makers had dropped significantly since late last year when a