Tag: business

LONDON — Britain officially leaves the European Union on Jan. 31 after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Difficult negotiations setting out the new relationship between Britain and its European neighbours will continue throughout 2020. This series of stories chronicles Britain’s tortured relationship with Europe from the post-World War II years to the present.

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Europe has been a source of contention in Britain seemingly forever. That may be why no consensus has really ever existed over the benefits of being a member of the European Union and why the country has been so divided in the run-up to Brexit day.

Though there may be no bigger lovers of the horrors of Scandi-noir or the beaches of Greece than the British, feelings for the EU have been far more lukewarm during the country’s 47 years of membership. One of the ironies

TOKYO — Stock markets were trading in narrow ranges Monday as investors awaited central bank decisions and earnings reports due out in coming weeks. U.S. stock markets will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.2% to 6,089, while Germany’s DAX edged up 0.1% to 13,541. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.3% to 7,654.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.2% higher to close at 24,083.51, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% to 7,079.50. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5% to 2,262.64, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9% to 28,800.63. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.7% to 3,095.79.

China’s central bank left its one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 4.15%, holding off on easing credit further as it uses other methods to pump up liquidity in the markets ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The rate, based on quotes from major banks,

DAVOS, Switzerland — Rising income inequality is undermining confidence in capitalism around the world, according to a survey conducted by public relations firm Edelman ahead of the gathering of the elites in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

Among those surveyed in the report published Monday, 56% thought that capitalism was doing more harm than good despite another year of solid economic growth and near-full employment in many developed countries.

The stark finding could cause a stir among the business executives and political leaders as they make their way to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

“We are living in a trust paradox,” said Richard Edelman, the CEO of Edelman, which has been conducting its survey of trust for 20 years. “Since we began measuring trust, economic growth has fostered rising trust.”

Though that relationship between economic growth and faith in the system remains in developing areas such

LONDON — Google’s chief executive called Monday for a balanced approach to regulating artificial intelligence, telling a European audience that the technology brings benefits but also “negative consequences.”

Sundar Pichai’s comments come as lawmakers and governments seriously consider putting limits on how artificial intelligence is used.

“There is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. The question is how best to approach this,” Pichai said, according to a transcript of his speech at a Brussel-based think-tank .

He noted that there’s an important role for governments to play and that as the European Union and the U.S. start drawing up their own approaches to regulation, “international alignment” of any eventual rules will be critical. He did not provide specific proposals.

Pichai spoke on the same day he was scheduled to meet the EU’s powerful competition regulator, Margrethe Vestager. She’s also due to meet Microsoft President

BERLIN — U.S. diplomats on Monday oversaw the signing of an agreement between Serbia, Kosovo and German airline Lufthansa on the resumption of commercial flights intended to help improve economic ties between the Balkan nations.

Serbia and Kosovo have remained uneasy neighbours ever since their 1998-99 war that claimed more than 10,000 lives and left over 1 million people homeless.

Serbia continues to consider Kosovo part of its territory, although its independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States.

U.S. National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien said the ‘letter of intent’ signed in Berlin between representatives of the two countries marked a “historic deal,” calling commercial air links the “lifeblood of a modern economy.”

O’Brien said there have been no commercial flights between Kosovo and Serbia in 21 years. Currently, it takes over five hours to travel from Belgrade to Pristina overland.

The agreement was inked

LONDON — BBC Director-General Tony Hall announced Monday that he will step down from the helm of the U.K. broadcaster in six months after seven years in the job.

Hall said he was quitting so that a new leader can oversee a mid-term review of the BBC’s funding in 2022, and a renewal of its governing charter, due in 2027.

The announcement comes as the publicly funded BBC is facing intense political and public pressure amid a fast-changing media landscape and viewing habits. It has been criticized by both sides of the Brexit debate over its coverage of the U.K.’s impending departure from the European Union, and some in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government have suggested changing the BBC’s funding model.

The broadcaster currently is funded largely through a 154 pound a year ($200 a year) fee paid by every household with a television. It is not state-controlled, though

LOS ANGELES — The men bringing James Dean back to life for a forthcoming film are aiming not just to give his digital likeness a role, but a whole new career.

Dean’s planned appearance in the Vietnam War movie “Finding Jack,” and the possibility of future parts, comes as digital de-aging and duplication of real actors has tipped from cinematic trick into common practice. And it’s giving new life to old arguments about the immortality and dignity of the dead.

“Our intentions are to create the virtual being of James Dean. That’s not only for one movie, but going to be used for many movies and also gaming and virtual reality,” said Travis Cloyd, CEO of Worldwide XR, who is leading the design on the Dean project. “Our focus is on building the ultimate James Dean so he can live across any medium.”

Legally, they have every right to do

PARIS — France’s president is taking on the role of salesman in chief for his strike-battered country.

Emmanuel Macron used the splendor of the Palace of Versailles to woo international business leaders on Monday, insisting that his reforms are attracting investors despite six weeks of crippling protests and walkouts over his plan to overhaul the retirement system.

Driving home the message that the eurozone’s second-largest economy remains open for business, Macron’s government announced a 2 billion-euro ($2.2 billion) contract for the French shipyard of Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast. It will build two cruise ships for the company MSC, representing some 2,400 jobs over three years. MSC confirmed plans to build other ships in France for another 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion).

“Good news doesn’t arrive out of nowhere. It comes because we are implementing reforms, because our country is moving, mobilizing,” Macron said. “I know that our heads are

SARAJEVO, Bosnia — Dozens of people on Monday gathered for a protest in Sarajevo because of dangerously high levels of air pollution in the past few weeks in the Bosnian capital.

Some of the participants wore face masks at the rally Monday held outside the building hosting Sarajevo’s government.

Organizers say they want to encourage people into action and draw public attention to the decades-old problem typical for the city that is squeezed in a deep valley among the mountains.

Air pollution measurements in the past weeks have shown that levels of damaging airborne particles have exceeded European Union’s safety norms by several times.

Local authorities had introduced emergency measures for days last week, urging citizens not to use coal and wood for heating and banning diesel cars.

Local head of government Edin Forto told the protesters that the situation can’t change in a few months, but will take much

TORONTO — The materials sector helped Canada’s main stock index march higher into record territory in late-morning trading.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 39.42 points at 17,598.44

U.S. stock markets are closed due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The Canadian dollar traded for 76.58 cents US compared with an average of 76.56 cents US on Friday.

The March crude contract was up six cents at US$58.64 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down 9.1 cents at US$1.91 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up 60 cents at US$1,560.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 0.3 of a cent at US$2.84 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)

The Canadian Press