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'Utter madness': NZ farmers agree dairy sale to French group
'Utter madness': NZ farmers agree dairy sale to French group
by  AFP

Farmers who own New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra voted Thursday to sell its consumer business to French group Lactalis, a decision slammed by the country's foreign minister as "utter madness". Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the vote meant "iconic" brands such as Anchor, Mainland and Kapiti were being sold off to the French firm.

Samsung posts 32% profit rise on-year in third quarter
Samsung posts 32% profit rise on-year in third quarter
by  AFP

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics posted on Thursday a 32 percent rise in profits on-year for the third quarter, driven by AI-fuelled market demand for memory chips. - Share surge - Against the backdrop of AI market opportunities, Samsung -- a bellwether on South Korea's benchmark Kospi index -- has seen its shares surge more than 90 percent since the beginning of this year.

Taxes, labor laws, pensions: what Milei wants to do next
Taxes, labor laws, pensions: what Milei wants to do next
by  AFP

Boosted by his victory in mid-term elections, Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei is preparing to forge ahead with a second wave of reforms, targeting the labor market, taxation system and, down the line, pensions.

Meta shares sink as $16 bn US tax charge tanks profit
Meta shares sink as $16 bn US tax charge tanks profit
by  AFP

Meta shares dove more than eight percent in after-hours trading Wednesday after the tech giant reported a US tax charge took a roughly $16 billion bite out of its quarterly profit. Quarterly revenue however exceeded analyst expectations at $51.2 billion, a 26 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

Google parent Alphabet posts first $100 bn quarter as AI drives growth
Google parent Alphabet posts first $100 bn quarter as AI drives growth
by  AFP

Google parent Alphabet reported its first-ever $100 billion quarterly revenue on Wednesday, powered by strong growth across its core search business and rapidly expanding cloud division that was buoyed by artificial intelligence. The cloud division, which competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, has become a key growth engine for Alphabet.

Uber plans San Francisco robotaxis in Waymo challenge
Uber plans San Francisco robotaxis in Waymo challenge
by  AFP

Uber said Wednesday it will launch its own robotaxi service in San Francisco late next year, taking on Google-owned Waymo on the rideshare giant's home streets. Waymo robotaxis have grown in popularity in San Francisco, and even become a tourist attraction, since the service began testing here in 2021 and opened to the general public last year.

Trump, Xi to meet seeking truce in damaging trade war
Trump, Xi to meet seeking truce in damaging trade war
by  AFP

Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will seek a truce in their tit-for-tat trade war on Thursday, with the US president predicting a "great meeting" but Beijing being more circumspect. One surprise could be if Xi brings up Taiwan, with speculation that Beijing might press Trump to water down US backing for the self-ruled island.

S. African president eyes better US tariff deal 'soon'
S. African president eyes better US tariff deal 'soon'
by  AFP

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday that his country has advanced to "text-based" negotiations with Washington towards securing a better tariff deal -- and hoped one would materialise "soon".

US media mogul John Malone to step down as head of business empire
US media mogul John Malone to step down as head of business empire
by  AFP

Billionaire media and telecoms tycoon John Malone will step down as chairman of his multinational companies Liberty Global and Liberty Media after decades influencing the global communications landscape, the businesses announced Wednesday. He will also step down as chairman at Liberty Media, which operates Formula 1 racing, MotoGP, and Live Nation entertainment.