BUSINESS - Page 42

Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp 7269.T said on Tuesday it had agreed with SkyDrive Inc to make “flying cars,” using a factory in central Japan to make electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The companies aim to begin production by around spring next year, Suzuki said in a statement. SkyDrive will establish a wholly-owned subsidiary to make the aircraft, and Suzuki will help with preparations for the manufacturing, including securing human resources, the company added. Amid global urban congestion

China’s second-largest economy is facing growing turbulence as it struggles with a slowdown in its property market and persistently weak confidence. As a result, the Asian nation’s economic growth is expected to slow in the third and fourth quarters, according to Goldman Sachs (GS.N). According to a note published late Sunday, the Wall Street investment bank has lowered its full-year accurate gross domestic product growth forecast for the world’s second-biggest economy from 6% to 5.4%. It also lowered its 2024

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, faces regulatory challenges in multiple jurisdictions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed 13 charges against the company and its CEO Changpeng Zhao, accusing them of a series of violations, including artificially inflating trading volumes, commingling customer assets, misleading investors about market surveillance controls, and operating as an unregistered securities broker. Binance has fought against those claims and is working to ensure that all its operations are transparent and compliant with applicable rules.

The Insider reported that software firm Oracle has laid off hundreds of employees, rescinded job offers, and cut back open positions within its health unit. The move comes amid thousands of cuts in corporate America as companies wrestle with elevated inflation levels and rising interest rates. The tech giant’s layoffs reportedly affect its Cerner division. The layoffs will likely result from Cerner’s troubled work with the Department of Veterans Affairs, which hired the company to replace its homemade medical records

The CEO said he is close to developing technology that will make all Tesla cars capable of driving themselves, repeating claims he has made for years but which he has yet to deliver. Tesla shares rose by 3% to their highest level more than eight months after the announcement, taking the company’s market capitalization to around $800 billion. That makes it the world’s most valuable automaker, ahead of Alphabet and Facebook. Based in Palo Alto, California, Tesla uses a different

The Bank of England looks set to raise rates by a quarter point to a 15-year high of 4.75% on June 22, its 13th straight rate rise, as it fights unexpectedly sticky inflation that risks making the U.K. a global outlier. Inflation accelerated last month, but the central Bank’s policymakers will be encouraged by signs that higher energy costs are easing and the impact of a slump in global food prices is wearing off, boosting its chances of hitting its

On Friday, U.S. memory chipmaker Micron said it was committed to China. It would invest 4.3 billion yuan ($603 million) over the next few years in its chip packaging facility in the Chinese city of Xian. The company did not disclose the value of the investment or how many jobs it would create. Micron is the world’s biggest maker of DRAM and NAND chips and derives more than 10% of its global revenue from China. Micron said it would buy

Bill Gates is in China, marking his first trip to the country since 2019. He tweeted that he would meet with partners associated with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who have been working on global health and development challenges. Gates’ visit will likely include a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to two people who know the matter, it will mark Xi’s first encounter with a foreign private entrepreneur in recent years. The encounter may be one-on-one, the

German engineering and technology group Siemens (SIEGn.DE) will spend 2 billion euros ($2.16 billion) on a new global investment plan as it gears up to meet increased demand triggered by global stimulus packages. The company will build new factories, research and development centers, and training sites worldwide, Siemens said in a statement on Thursday. The investment program will boost capacity for high-tech manufacturing, including constructing a new plant in Singapore for its industrial automation division and expanding at the site