MS value 2nd after Apple

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― The bull run in Microsoft’s stock this past year has helped the tech giant surpass Exxon Mobil and seize the rank of the second most valuable company, behind Apple Inc. Under new CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has worked to overcome its reputation as a clumsy behemoth struggling to keep up with new tech trends and consumer habits. Nadella has cut expenses ― and jobs ― while pledging to refocus the company on mobile technology and cloud computing. His efforts have fueled a stoc

Nov. 16, 2014

IEA says oil ‘price rout’ not over

PARIS (AFP) ― Oil prices are expected to keep sliding well into 2015, held down by weak demand and increased shale production, the International Energy Agency said Friday.Global prices have collapsed by some 30 percent since June, and crude futures slumped on Thursday to lows not seen since September 2010, diving well below the $80-per-barrel mark.The IEA said while there had been speculation that the high cost of shale extraction “might set a new equilibrium for Brent prices in the $80 to $90 r

Nov. 16, 2014

World economy worst in two years: investor poll

The world economy is in its worst shape in two years, with the euro area and emerging markets deteriorating and the danger of deflation rising, according to a Bloomberg Global Poll of international investors. A plurality of 38 percent of those surveyed last week described the global economy as worsening, more than double the number who said that in the last poll in July and the most since September 2012, when Europe was mired in a recession. Much of the concern is again focused on the euro area:

Nov. 16, 2014

Saudi minister denies oil price war

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi. (Bloomberg)MEXICO CITY (AFP) ― Saudi Arabia’s oil minister on Wednesday rejected talk that the country was leading a price war in global oil markets as crude prices continue to sink.“Talk of a price war is a sign of misunderstanding ― deliberate or otherwise ― and has no basis in reality,” Ali Al-Naimi told a conference in Acapulco, according to the text of his speech.Naimi called recent talk of a change in the country’s strategy, in particular its cutti

Nov. 13, 2014

Alibaba’s Jack Ma: Being richest is ‘great pain’

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― He may now be China’s richest man but Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has admitted in a U.S. television interview that being so wealthy is actually causing him “great pain.”Ma has seen his fortune balloon to $19.5 billion after Alibaba’s record-breaking $25 billion initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in September, according to data compiled by Forbes magazine.On Tuesday, the company chalked up a new record ― $9.3 billion of sales conducted th

Nov. 13, 2014

India, U.S. reach WTO food deal breakthrough

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― India and the United States said Thursday they have resolved a row over food subsidies that has been blocking a landmark global trade agreement.India refused to endorse the Trade Facilitation Agreement in July unless its food stockpiles were exempted from possible punitive measures, prompting the U.S. to accuse it of taking the World Trade Organization “to the brink of crisis.”But on Thursday both sides agreed India’s food security programs would not be challenged under WTO rul

Nov. 13, 2014

Lew warns of European ‘lost decade’

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States warned Wednesday that the global economy cannot endure a “European lost decade,” criticizing “status quo policies” in the eurozone ahead of the G20 summit this week.Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a speech that monetary easing by the European Central Bank is not enough to avoid a deeper slump across Europe.And he said that other countries should not rely on the U.S. economy to prop up global growth.“The world cannot afford a European lost decade,” Lew sa

Nov. 13, 2014

Alibaba may work with PayPal

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is open to working with eBay Inc.’s PayPal to expand payment options after shoppers bought a record 57.1 billion yuan ($9.3 billion) of goods during the Chinese company’s annual Singles’ Day promotion. Asia’s largest Internet company also sees Apple Inc.’s payment system as helping Chinese consumers when Alibaba’s finance affiliate Alipay isn’t accepted, Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai said in an interview Tuesday in Hangzhou, China. Alibaba said earlier that it beat last ye

Nov. 12, 2014

China to overtake U.S. as world’s biggest oil user

China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest oil consumer within two decades, according to the International Energy Agency. “A landmark is reached in the early 2030s, when China becomes the largest oil-consuming country, crossing paths with the United States,” the agency said in a summary of its World Energy Outlook, which forecasts long-term energy trends. The full findings of the report will be presented at a press conference in London Wednesday. Growth in oil demand to 2040 will also b

Nov. 12, 2014

Obama calls for tougher Internet rules

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama on Monday embraced a radical change in how the government treats Internet service, coming down on the side of consumer activists who fear slower download speeds and higher costs but angering Republicans and the nation’s cable giants who say the plan would kill jobs. Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to more heavily regulate Internet providers and treat broadband much as it would any other public utility. He said the FCC should explicit

Nov. 11, 2014

Musk eyes Internet satellites

SpaceX chief Elon Musk. (Bloomberg)SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― High-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has reportedly added global Internet access from satellites to his vision of a future alongside sporty electric cars and private space exploration.The billionaire behind automaker Tesla and the SpaceX program is working on the project with satellite-industry veteran Greg Wyler, who spent some time devoted to a similar mission at Google, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.Musk and Wyler are try

Nov. 11, 2014

Google signs 60-year, $1b NASA lease

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Google has signed a long-term lease for part of a historic Navy air base, where it plans to renovate three massive hangars and use them for projects involving aviation, space exploration and robotics.The giant Internet company will pay $1.16 billion in rent over 60 years for the property, which also includes a working air field, golf course and other buildings. The 400-hectare site is part of the former Moffett Field Naval Air Station on the San Francisco Peninsula. The Goog

Nov. 11, 2014

Fed’s Rosengren warns against higher interest rates until inflation rises

U.S. policy makers should be confident that inflation is heading higher before raising interest rates, said Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren. “Until there is stronger evidence that inflation will return to 2 percent ― versus a repeated forecast that it will ― I believe monetary policy makers should remain patient about removing accommodation,” he said in the text of remarks he is scheduled to deliver Tuesday in Lexington, Virginia. Most Fed officials expect to raise intere

Nov. 11, 2014

Amid currency gyrations, Russia floats ruble

Pedestrians walk under a board listing foreign currency rates against the Russian ruble outside an exchange office in Moscow on Monday. (AFP-Yonhap)MOSCOW (AP) ― As an acrobat in one of Moscow’s circuses, Yuri Friyuk is an expert at gyrating without falling on his face. Lately, he’s worried about whether the rubles he’s paid with can be as deft.Plagued by the Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis and by falling oil prices, Russia’s economy is struggling and the ruble is taking a head

Nov. 11, 2014