The Economist is out with the top places to live. Yahoo Finance's Seana Smith, Rick Newman, and Dion Rabouin discuss.
Asian markets forged higher Tuesday after another day of gains on Wall Street, although Hong Kong's benchmark faltered. U.S. futures were nearly flat and oil prices edged higher. Gains were led by semiconductor companies like Tokyo Electron, which closed 4.8% higher, and Advantest, which picked up 2.2%.
Swiss banking giant UBS on Tuesday said first quarter net profit rose 71 percent to nearly $1.8 billion, far exceeding expectations, after two quarters in the red due to the mammoth takeover of Credit Suisse.In the first quarter of last year, UBS had posted a net profit of just over $1 billion.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced first-quarter net profit of $27.27 billion on Tuesday, down 14.5 percent from last year as the Gulf kingdom kept production cuts in place. Net income was 102.27 billion riyals ($27.27 billion), down from 119.54 billion riyals ($31.88 billion) for the same quarter in 2023, Aramco said, adding that "the decrease was primarily a result of lower crude oil volume sold".
An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — but only barely — for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed seven first responders was "an unlawful attack on civilians", and urged Washington to suspend weapons sales to Israel.The rights group urged the United States to "immediately suspend arms sales and military assistance to Israel given evidence that the Israeli military is using US weapons unlawfully". lg/aya/srm/jd/kir
Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his ballot Tuesday in India's ongoing general election after giving several inflammatory campaign speeches accused of targeting minority Muslims.Modi's brand of Hindu-nationalist politics has made India's 220-million-plus Muslim population increasingly anxious about their future in the country.
One of London's oldest gentlemen's clubs on Tuesday votes on whether to start accepting women amid a row that has bitterly divided members.BBC world affairs editor John Simpson last week tweeted: "Various Garrick Club members including Sting, Mark Knopfler and leading actors and producers have reportedly written to the club chairman saying they'll resign if the membership doesn't vote to accept women next Tuesday."
The first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner spaceship was dramatically called off just two hours before launch after a new safety issue was identified, officials said Monday, pushing back a high-stakes test mission to the International Space Station.But other problems that came to light -- including weak parachutes and flammable tape in the cabin that needed to be removed -- caused further delays to the crewed test flight, necessary for the capsule to be certified for NASA use on regular ISS m
Rescue efforts were underway after three people were killed and dozens remained trapped after a multi-storey building under construction collapsed in the South African city of George, authorities said.
An investment firm backed by LVMH is betting demand from wealthy Americans for quiet luxury will ensure its 510 million euro ($545 million) stake in Italian shoemaker Tod's yields the double-digit returns private equity typically seeks. L Catterton, created by U.S. fund Catterton and LVMH-owner Groupe Arnault, on Friday secured sufficient shares to take Tod's private once the deal, valuing the company at just over 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion), formally concludes in the coming days. Listed in Milan but controlled by its founding Della Valle family, Tod's profitability has lagged rivals.
Amazon said Tuesday it would invest US$9 billion in Singapore over the next four years to expand its cloud computing capabilities in the city.Microsoft pledged US$2.2 billion in artificial intelligence and cloud computing investment in Malaysia on Thursday.
Millions of Indian voters across 93 constituencies were casting ballots on Tuesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mounted an increasingly shrill election campaign, ramping up polarizing rhetoric in incendiary speeches that have targeted the Muslim minority. In recent campaign rallies, Modi has called Muslims “infiltrators” and said they “have too many children,” referring to a Hindu nationalist trope that Muslims produce more children with the aim of outnumbering Hindus in India.
A tornado destroyed homes and toppled trees and power lines when it roared through a small Oklahoma town, one of several twisters that erupted in the central United States amid a series of powerful storms that forecasters warned could stretch into the early hours of Tuesday. Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden told KOTV that there were no confirmed fatalities as of 11 p.m. local time. The National Weather Service in Tulsa had warned earlier in the evening that “a large and life-threatening tornado” was headed toward Barnsdall, with wind gusts up to 70 mph (112 kph).
Protesters in New York converged near the Met Gala on Monday in a rally against the ongoing war in Gaza, leading to several arrests, police said.Among the rallying points were the gates of Columbia University, which has been the center of spreading demonstrations, before protesters marched through Manhattan to American fashion's biggest night -- or at least as close as police would let them.
Voters in Northern Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. The office of prime minister wields the real power, and the president is largely ceremonial, so the parliamentary election is the more important of the two contests. The election for the unicameral parliament takes place in a single round, while the presidential election is the runoff of a two-round contest that began in April with the center-right candidate scoring a large lead over the center-left incumbent.
Palestinian civilians told to evacuate eastern Rafah by the Israeli military have described their fear and despair at being uprooted from their homes and shelters, as Israel airstrikes hit Gaza’s southernmost city.
U.S. jets dropped five bombs on the Chinese Embassy compound in the Serbian capital on May 7, 1999, setting it ablaze and killing three Chinese nationals. Twenty other people were injured in the incident, which has burdened relations between the two powers ever since.
Apple, which has been falling behind its competitors on AI, has been evading questions about its plans for the technology. "We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we're making significant investments," CEO Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview. The project, internally codenamed as Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center), aims to leverage Apple's chip design expertise for its server infrastructure, the report said.
Boeing scrubbed its Monday launch attempt of its new Starliner spacecraft, crewed by veteran NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.
Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. and CNN contributor Geoff Duncan on Monday said he will vote for President Joe Biden in November, arguing former President Donald Trump “has disqualified himself through his conduct and his character.”
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