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☆ The new Swiss Army Knife will be missing a key feature
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The maker of the Swiss Army Knife is working on a new version of the classic multi-tool, which won’t have a blade. “We are in the early stages of developing pocket tools without blades,” a spokesperson for Swiss firm Victorinox told CNN in a statement Tuesday, adding that they will compliment the existing range of multi-tools rather than replacing them. Adrian Moser/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesCNN contacted Victorinox after company CEO Carl Elsener Jr. told Swiss media outlet Blick that he is concerned about increasingly stringent regulations on knives in many markets. For example, increasing concern over the prevalence of knife crime means that the British government is considering new legislation on bladed articles, and Elsener himself referenced the country’s rules. “In England or certain Asian countries, you are sometimes only allowed to carry a knife if you need to have it to do your job or operate outdoors,” said Elsener.

Persons: Victorinox, ”, Adrian Moser, Carl Elsener Jr, Elsener, Karl Elsener, Arnd Wiegmann, Elsener Jr, CNN’s Richard Quest Organizations: CNN, Swiss Army, Bloomberg, Getty Images CNN, “, “ Cyclists, Reuters Locations: Ibach, Switzerland, Swiss, England, “

☆ Europe should brace for ‘harsh decisions’ if Trump is re-elected, says ECB’s Lagarde
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Europe should prepare for possible threats to its economy — including new US tariffs on its exports — if Donald Trump returns to the White House, according to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. “Let us prepare for potential tariffs, for potential harsh decisions that would be unexpected. The transatlantic relationship was strained during Trump’s first term, not least by a tit-for-tat trade spat between Washington and Brussels. That dispute saw the United States impose tariffs on EU steel and aluminum, to which the EU responded with tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods, including whiskey, motorcycles and denim. The United States is the EU’s biggest source of foreign direct investment.

Persons: Donald Trump, Christine Lagarde, Mr Trump, ”, CNN’s Richard Quest, ” Lagarde, Trump, Trump’s, Lagarde, “ Organizations: London CNN, White, European Central Bank, United, EU, Republican, Ukraine, Russia, Trade, Trump, French, France, NATO Locations: Europe, United States, Washington, Brussels, Paris

☆ Inflation isn’t beaten yet and risks of a new price shock are rising
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The job is not yet done,” François Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of France’s central bank, said this week in Davos. Those “upside risks to inflation” include supply chain fragmentation, trade protectionism, climate shocks and armed conflicts, according to Gopinath. As soon as central banks start lowering interest rates “people feel better, they start spending more,” she said. Now the bank has to keep interest rates high “for as long as necessary” to put inflation firmly on the path back to 2%, she added. Meanwhile, container shipping costs along many of the world’s busiest trade routes have doubled — and in some cases tripled — since the middle of December, according to data from London-based shipping consultancy Drewry.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, ”, “ It’s, Galhau, Gita Gopinath, Francois Villeroy de, Stefan Wermuth, Gopinath, Mary Callahan Erdoes, Christine Lagarde, “, Joe Biden, Vincent Clerc, CNN’s Richard Quest, Tobias Meyer, ” Robert North Organizations: London CNN, UBS, Economic, Federal Reserve, International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg, Getty, JPMorgan, Central Bank, IMF, Oxford University, Drewry, Oxford Economics, Maersk, DHL Locations: Iran, Africa, Davos, Switzerland, Red, United States, Europe, United Kingdom, France’s, Israel, Pakistan, British, Yemen, Suez, London, Asia

☆ Insurers shun many ships carrying goods through the Red Sea as attacks continue
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The crisis in the Red Sea threatens to damage the economy by increasing prices on consumers and delaying the shipment of goods. A Houthi official vowed on Wednesday that attacks on “Israeli-linked” vessels in the Red Sea as well as the Arabian Sea will continue. Ikea also does not foresee any product shortages from the Red Sea problems. “Shippers are now much better at using alternative ways of moving their goods around the world,” Zandi said. “We have not seen the situation in the Red Sea translate into material movements in prices in the US such as consumer goods and gasoline prices,” Schwartz said.

Persons: ”, Marcus Baker, Marsh McLennan, Baker, Vicent Clerc, ” Clerc, CNN’s Richard Quest, Mark Zandi, Zandi, Kristalina Georgieva, Quest, ” Zandi, Stephen Schwartz, ” Schwartz Organizations: CNN, US, US Central Command, Maersk, International Monetary Fund, Oxford University . Shipping, P, Moody’s, Global, IMF, Economic, Wednesday, Ikea, Wells, Wells Fargo Global Receivables, Trade Finance Locations: Israel, Marsh, Suez, Africa, China, Davos, Switzerland, “, Asia, Europe, Germany, Wells Fargo, Iran

☆ Argentina’s Milei tells Davos ‘heroes’ how it should be done
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“The Argentine economy is in such bad shape that it has to be shaken up. President Milei and his team are doing exactly that,” she said during an interview in Davos. He has also devalued Argentina’s currency. However, some of Milei’s measures, such as the devaluation, are also likely to stabilize Argentina’s economy in the medium term, Sperrfechter said. Among his most radical plans, Milei has pledged to ditch the peso as Argentina’s official currency and replace it with the US dollar.

Persons: London CNN —, ” “, ” Javier Milei, ”, Milei, Juan Peron, Kristalina Georgieva, CNN’s Richard Quest Wednedsay, Milei’s, Kimberley Sperrfechter, Sperrfechter, It’s Organizations: London CNN, Economic, Council, Foreign Relations, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Argentine, Capital Economics, CNN, “, US Federal Reserve Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Argentina, Argentine, US, “ Argentina

☆ Premarket stocks: Why Wall Street should worry about retail
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of America’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, so a recession is nearly impossible as long as consumer spending is growing. Wednesday’s report is expected to be a good one — economists polled by FactSet expect that a strong holiday shopping season boosted consumer spending by 0.4% in December from the month prior. But new data from the New York Federal Reserve on Tuesday has soured the mood on Wall Street. The outlook for consumer spending doesn’t look so bright, either. The trend marked the deepening of a demographic challenge set to have significant implications on the world’s second largest economy, report my colleagues Laura He and Simone McCarthy.

Persons: Alicia Wallace, shutdowns, It’s, Brian Moynihan, ”, CNN’s Richard Quest, they’ve, Bob Iger, Samantha Delouya, Walt Disney, Iger’s, Disney, Laura, Simone McCarthy Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, FactSet, New York Federal Reserve, Consumer, Hamas, Federal Reserve, Bank of America, Economic, Disney, National Bureau of Statistics, Communist, NBS Locations: New York, Suez, Iranian, Asia, Europe, United States, Drewry, Davos, Switzerland, China, Communist China

☆ Premarket stocks: The rich and powerful are meeting in Davos. Here’s what they’re talking about
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Climate catastrophes: Climate change is a hot topic as leaders meet to discuss balancing economic growth with sustainability. Davos comes just days after scientists around the globe reported that the average temperatures last year reached a new record high. The report also said that cooperation among global leaders on the issue is scarce. So while leaders will likely discuss the use of fossil fuels and green development, there may not be much agreement. Leaders gathered in Davos Sunday to discuss Ukrainian President Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan to end Russia’s war with his country.

Persons: Isaac Herzog, Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron, Li Qiang, Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, John Kerry, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Jamie Dimon, Brian Moynihan, Larry Fink, Donald Trump, ”, Philipp Hildebrand, CNN’s Richard Quest, ” “, ” Nicolai Tangen, CNN’s, “, Kristalina Georgieva, OpenAI’s Altman, Microsoft’s, Zelensky’s, JPMorgan’s Dimon, Herzog, Klaus Schwab, Tami Luhby, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, Nabil Ahmed, ” Ahmed, Jordan Valinsky, Comité Organizations: New, New York CNN, World Economic, National, Business, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Bank of America, BlackRock, Republican, GOP, ” BlackRock, Bank, Norges Bank, International Monetary Fund, IMF, State, Amazon, Oracle, Berkshire Hathaway, Oxfam, Workers Locations: New York, Davos, United States, Iowa, Europe, Taiwan, India, Mexico, China, Covid, Champagne, France

☆ IMF: Neighboring economies likely hit by Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —The Israel-Hamas war is likely to hurt other economies in the Middle East, including Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday. Tourism will likely take a hit, and the cost of insuring the movement of goods will go up. The IMF sees an “incredibly resilient world economy, but jittery and more so,” as a consequence of the war, Georgieva said. Her comments highlight that the economic fallout from the war is only likely to grow, even as financial markets remain relatively sanguine about the consequences for now. Make sure that you understand [higher] interest rates are here to stay for longer,” she said, pointing to the fact that inflation was not falling fast enough.

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, CNN’s Richard Quest, Georgieva, “, ” Richard Kozul, Wright, ”, ” — Winston Lo Organizations: London CNN, International Monetary Fund, Future Investment Initiative, “, IMF, United Nations Conference, Trade, Development, West Bank, Gross, UNCTAD, Saudi Locations: Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, “ Davos, Saudi Arabia, Tourism, Russia, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Ukraine

☆ From cocktails to free rides, World Cup co-hosts fight to woo back tourists
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In 2022, there were only about 1.4 million visitors, according to data provided by the government, still considerably below pre-pandemic levels. That’s why events like the Women’s World Cup are so important. Cities like Wellington and Auckland have catered to World Cup tourists by making public transportation free on game days for anyone with a match ticket. The extra effort has not gone unnoticed by tourists, especially those who have traveled to other World Cup events. Compared to the last Women’s World Cup in France, more businesses seem excited to welcome tourists, said US fan Carly Andler.

Persons: James Johnson, “, ” Johnson, ”, Monchy, CNN’s Richard Quest, Iain Walker, Chow Tory, Chow Tory's, Tara Subramaniam, Carly Andler, Andler, we’ve Organizations: Wellington CNN — Soccer, Football Australia, Tourism, Zealand’s Ministry of Business Innovation, New Zealand, Air New Zealand, FIFA, CNN, New Zealand’s Football Ferns, Wellington Chocolate Factory, Wellington City Council Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Tourism New Zealand, New, Tourism Australia, Cities, Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton, United States, Costa Rica, Spanish, Swedish, Italy, Japan, Rosebud, Bundaberg, Zealand, France

☆ Travel news: Living in lighthouses, delivering during a flight and touring Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

This week has been rough for air travelers in the United States, but we have flight attendants’ secrets for surviving summer travel. Waterfront real estateThe US General Services Administration is giving away or auctioning lighthouses in New England. Like the small towns in Italy selling off houses for just 1 euro, these lighthouses come with stipulations. Written in stoneAnd while we’re on the subject of summer travel peak season, this period is often tourists-behaving-badly season. Dr. Sij Hemal was on a flight from Paris to New York when a fellow passenger reported severe abdominal pains.

Persons: CNN — It’s, you’ve, Ivan, Haley, ”, Sig Hemal, Susan Shepherd, Sij Hemal, Chelsea Dickenson, Dickenson, Richard Quest, Beckham Organizations: CNN, General Services Administration, Police, Cleveland, Asahi Shimbun Locations: United States, New England, Italy, Rome, United Kingdom, Paris, New York, Japan, Tottori Sand, Tokyo, Nagoya, Tottori, British, Macao, Vegas of Asia

☆ Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker: Aviation will miss net zero target
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Tom Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The CEO of Qatar Airways has described the airline industry’s emissions goals as a “PR exercise,” saying aviation is on track to miss its target to achieve net zero status in 2050. “Let us not fool ourselves,” Al Baker told CNN’s Richard Quest. Currently, SAF production is less than 0.1% of what is needed for aviation to achieve net zero. “We’re openly acknowledging that this is going to be a huge challenge,” Walsh told Quest as the IATA meeting began on Sunday. Despite his skepticism on the industry’s current emissions targets, he still believes that net zero is achievable.

Persons: Akbar Al Baker, ” Al Baker, CNN’s Richard Quest, “, Al Baker, ”, Willie Walsh, Walsh, “ We’re, ” Walsh, Quest, I’m Organizations: London CNN, Qatar Airways, CNN, International Air Transport Association, SAF

☆ IATA: Airline industry expects to make profits of nearly $10 billion this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

IATA on Monday more than doubled its 2023 profit forecast for the global airline industry despite a looming economic downturn. Airlines are expected to make $9.8 billion in net profit in 2023, up from a December forecast of $4.7 billion. The industry’s main lobby group expects 4.35 billion people to travel by air this year, not far off the 4.54 billion passengers who flew in 2019. The figures mark a significant turnaround for the airline industry, which carried just 1.8 billion passengers in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, at a loss of $76 per traveler. From that nadir, air travel has rebounded even as high inflation and rising interest rates weigh on spending by businesses and consumers in other areas.

Persons: Willie Walsh, ” Walsh, Walsh, “, CNN’s Richard Quest, we’re, ” — Gayle Harrington Organizations: London CNN — Global, International Air Transport Association Locations: Istanbul, “

☆ Saudi Arabia says LGBTQ visitors are now welcome
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —As Saudi Arabia continues its drive to attract tourists, authorities in the country appear to be reaching out to a particularly lucrative section of the market: LGBTQ travelers. “Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia and visitors are not asked to disclose such personal details,” is the website’s response to the question on its FAQ page: “Are LGBT visitors welcome to visit Saudi Arabia?”It is not known exactly when the website was updated. Same-sex sexual activity is an offense in Saudi Arabia, according to Human Rights Watch. LGBTQ+ travelers are a lucrative market, according to Darren Burn, CEO of Out Of Office, a luxury travel planning service for the community, and of Travel Gay, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ travel platform. Human rights researcher Nora Noralla told CNN that the kingdom is following Qatar and Dubai in its bid to attract LGBTQ+ travelers.

Hong Kong/Seoul CNN —BTS agency HYBE says it has called off a takeover bid for SM Entertainment, ending weeks of corporate mudslinging that has dominated headlines in South Korea. Last week, tech giant Kakao and its entertainment unit said they had doubled down on their quest to take control of SM, the iconic K-pop music agency. Kakao offered SM shareholders 150,000 won ($115) per share, much more than HYBE’s previous offer of 120,000 won ($92) per share, which garnered only mild interest from investors. SM Entertainment said in a statement that it “welcomes” HYBE’s decision to suspend its takeover bid. Kakao and its entertainment unit will continue with their existing tender offer to SM shareholders, which will wrap up on March 26, they told CNN.

☆ Microsoft enters 10-year agreement with Nintendo in fight to save Activision deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Gayle Harrington | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Microsoft announced it has agreed to partnerships with Nvidia and Nintendo as it tries to convince European Union officials to approve its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard — the company behind the popular game franchise Call of Duty. Microsoft President Brad Smith had a closed-door meeting Tuesday with EU regulators and competitors in Brussels to address concerns that its acquisition of Activision Blizzard could hurt competition in the video game industry. The deal has also come under scrutiny from regulators in the United States and the United Kingdom. Microsoft (MSFT) said that it has entered into a 10-year partnership with Nvidia to bring Xbox PC games to Nvidia’s cloud gaming service. In a statement, the software giant said the partnership “resolves Nvidia’s concerns with Activision Blizzard.

☆ A subsidy arms race is kicking off between Europe and America
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This premium is expected to shrink as clean energy technologies become more advanced and infrastructure to produce them is scaled up. Most of the money the IRA has earmarked for clean energy initiatives comes in the form of tax credits. In the meantime, government officials are lobbying the United States to rethink parts of the IRA. “Europe and other allied countries have nothing to fear from the Inflation Reduction Act and quite a bit to gain,” said Brian Deese, Biden’s top economic adviser. The fight over green subsidies also comes as geopolitical tensions are pushing countries to focus on greater localization of production — not just for green energy, but also for sensitive technologies like computer chips.

☆ Air fares will have to rise to clean up aviation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

He said that financiers and energy suppliers should invest in SAF production, including in emerging markets. The wealthy people in this room and wealthy nations should be funding the energy transition in aviation to help support developing countries,” he added. Holland-Kaye said that companies can play a major role accelerating the adoption of SAF because business travel accounts for about 30% of fuel used in aviation. In 2021, the industry pledged to replaced 10% of global jet fuel supply with SAF by 2030. Clean energy investments need a major boost if the world is to meet its climate goals, according to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency.

☆ America's top bankers worry more about the world than a recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The relationships of the Western world would have me far more concerned than whether there’s a mild or slightly severe recession [in the United States],” he added. “Saudi Arabia and the United States have been allies for 75 years. Fix social media but keep innovatingSchwarzman also highlighted rising interest rates and “the problems of relationships among countries” as the major challenges facing businesses. To that list he added social media. “One of the things that we’re almost not aware of is how difficult it is for governments to function in a world of social media,” Schwarzman said.

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