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☆ ChatGPT's been acting weird — and it's probably our fault
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewChatGPT has been acting up in weird ways in recent months. AI models like GPT-4 are continually tweaked and updated, with OpenAI relying on interactions with users to train ChatGPT to become more conversational and useful. It works through a process called reinforcement learning from human feedback , where the AI model learns which responses are more favorable to users and adjusts accordingly. ChatGPT users said the bot was becoming lazyIn recent months, users of the chatbot, which reportedly now has around 1.7 billion users, have been complaining that it has been acting up.

Persons: —, OpenAI, James Zou, ChatGPT, Sam Altman, Zou Organizations: Service, Business, Stanford University, Stanford Locations: GPT

"There's increasing evidence that the cyclical upturn in the global electronics sector is driving a bottoming-out of global trade and China's trade data is the latest sign," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Reuters GraphicsSouth Korean exports to China, a leading indicator of China's imports, fell at their slowest pace in 11 months in September. Semiconductors make up the bulk of their trade, signalling improving appetite among Chinese manufacturers for components to re-export in finished goods. However, Lv Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs, said at a press conference on Friday that China's trade still faces a complex and severe external environment. Overall, though, total merchandise imports fell at a slower pace, down 6.3%, reflecting a gradual recovery in domestic demand.

Persons: Smart, David Kirton, Xu Tianchen, it's, Julian Evans, Pritchard, Zou Lan, Premier Li Qiang, Li, Robert Carnell, Kevin Yao, Albee Zhang, Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill Organizations: Trade, REUTERS, Economist Intelligence Unit, Reuters Graphics South, Semiconductors, Administration of Customs, ASEAN, Federal Reserve, China Economics, Capital Economics, People's Bank of, Premier, Bloomberg, ING, Thomson Locations: Qianhai, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, BEIJING, United States, Europe, Stocks, People's Bank of China, Beijing, Asia, Pacific

United Parcel Service's (UPS) newly launched electric delivery truck is seen in Compton, California, U.S., September 13, 2023. Collectively, zero-emission delivery startups have raised around $1 billion so far, according to Pitchbook and data collected by Reuters. H&M, the world's second-largest fashion retailer, said it is scaling up a number of zero-emission delivery initiatives "through a variety of partnerships like the one... with Liefergrun." "Some customers are pushing very, very hard for as many zero-emission deliveries as possible," Hoed said. DHL's Zou said zero-emission delivery startups are not a threat, but added "we are always keen to look at them either for a commercial partnership or working together."

Persons: Lisa Baertlein, Germany's Liefergrun, Niklas Tauch, Tauch, Yin Zou, Tristan Thomas, DutchX, Marcus Hoed, Hoed, DHL's Zou, Sven Etzelsberger, Thomas Goldsby, Goldsby, Rob King, Zedify, King, Nick Carey, Ben Klayman, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, LOS, Reuters, FedEx, Deutsche Post DHL Group, United Parcel Service, Mercedes, Benz, DHL, Deutsche Post DHL, Amazon, Foods, IKEA, University of Tennessee, UPS, Thomson Locations: Compton , California, U.S, New York, Berlin, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Europe, Manhattan, Philadelphia, California

☆ A worldwide lithium shortage could come as soon as 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe world could face a shortage for lithium as demand for the metal ramps up, with some analysts forecasting that it could come as soon as 2025. BMI, a Fitch Solutions research unit, was among those that predict a lithium supply deficit by 2025. In a recently published report, BMI largely attributed the deficit to China's lithium demand exceeding that of its supply. "We expect an average of 20.4% year-on-year annual growth for China's lithium demand for EVs alone over 2023-2032," the report stated. While that could point to a global lithium surplus next year, shortages could start to plague supply chains in 2028.

Persons: Susan Zou, Corinne Blanchard, Deutsche, Blanchard, Zou Organizations: Sigma, Bloomberg, Getty, BMI, Fitch Solutions, Economic, Rystad Energy, P, Commodity, EV Locations: Itinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil, China, skyrocket, transportations, U.S, Europe

Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. Investors in China's stock markets, however, were clearly underwhelmed, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) dropped roughly 2% over the week, while the mainland's benchmark CSI 300 index (.CSI) eked out a 0.7% gain. But investors are becoming frustrated by the time the NDRC is taking to flesh out stimulus policies, or order measures like a cut in stamp duty - that could help China's ailing property sector, and please investors in stocks and bonds. Even in a best-case scenario, growth over the second half of this year looks set to be modest." Reporting by Joe Cash and Albee Zhang in Beijing; Editing by Himani Sarkar & Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, HSI, flexibly, Zou Lan, Xu Tianchen, Joe Cash, Albee Zhang, Himani Sarkar, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, National Development, Reform Commission, Communist Party's, UBS, Council, Economist Intelligence Unit, Weibo, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

Prices were also unchanged from a year earlier, retreating from a 0.1% increase in May. The property sector, accounting for one-fourth of activity in the world's second-biggest economy, slumped sharply last year as developers defaulted on debts and suspended construction of presold housing projects. Markets widely expect more stimulus around a meeting of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo late this month, setting the tone for economic policies in the second half of the year. Thirty-one of the 70 cities monitored by NBS recorded month-on-month rises in new home prices, down from 46 in May. Prices were flat after rising in May in tier-one cities including Beijing and tier-two cities.

Persons: Chen Xiao, Hunter, Chen, Zou Lan, Goldman Sachs, dampening, Qiaoyi Li, Liangping Gao, Ryan Woo, Kim Coghill, William Mallard Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Communist Party's Politburo, Zhuge, NBS, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing

☆ China central bank to use tools such as RRR to tackle economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. The central bank will step up "countercyclical adjustments" to support the economic recovery, PBOC Deputy Governor Liu Guoqiang told the press conference. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the central bank to cut the RRR by 25 basis points in the third quarter. But Liu said China has not seen deflation and there were no deflationary risks for the second half. "As for the specific policy tools, we will use them reasonably according to the needs of the situation."

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Zou Lan, Zou, Liu Guoqiang, Liu, Liangping Gao, Ellen Zhang, Shri Navaratnam, William Mallard Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Reuters, Securities Times, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

☆ China's central bank says consumer prices will likely drop in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Jason Lee | ReutersBEIJING – China's consumer prices will likely decline in July before recovering, Liu Guoqiang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, told reporters Friday. Official measures of consumer prices have barely changed in the last several months amid tepid demand, in contrast to high inflation in the U.S. and Europe. watch nowThe central bank said in April consumer prices would likely see a "U-shaped" recovery this year. He described the real estate market as "stable" overall, but said that "some real estate companies' long-accumulated risks require a period of time to gradually absorb." He said that was out of "consideration of deep changes in the relationship between supply and demand in [China's] real estate market."

Persons: Jason Lee, Liu Guoqiang, Liu, Bruce Pang, Zou Lan, Zou Organizations: People's Bank of China, Reuters, People's Bank of Locations: Beijing, China, Reuters BEIJING, People's Bank of China, U.S, Europe, JLL

☆ An AI detector mislabeled nearly every essay written by a non-native English speaker as being written by a bot
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Gabriel Rivera | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Researchers found popular GPT-detectors flagged essays by non-native English speakers as AI-written. Systems that detect AI-generated writing are flagging essays written by non-native English speakers as bot-generated, researchers from Stanford University said. In the study published Monday, the researchers ran more than 100 essays written by non-native English speakers through seven popular GPT detectors. The researchers also fed the detectors essays written by US eighth graders who speak English natively. More than half of the essays written by non-native English speakers were marked as AI-generated by the detection systems, the Stanford researchers found.

Persons: chatbots, James Zou, Zou, OpenAI, Sam Altman, ChatGPT, Altman Organizations: Systems, Stanford University, Stanford, The New York Times

The total tax breaks will amount to 520 billion yuan, Vice Minister of Finance Xu Hongcai said at a press conference. The announcement follows a June 2 Cabinet meeting during which authorities said they would extend and optimise the tax exemption and study policies to promote NEV development. Analysts said the cap on the purchase tax exemption would help drive growth of cheaper models that are mainly produced by domestic firms rather than premium vehicles from foreign makers. NEV sales rose 10.5% in May from a month earlier, showed data from the China Passenger Car Association. The tax break was announced in 2014 and extended in 2017, 2020 and 2022.

Persons: Finance Xu Hongcai, Cui Dongshu, Li Auto, Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, Susan Zou, Qiaoyi Li, Liz Lee, Siyi Liu, Donny Kwok, Miyoung Kim, Christopher Cushing Organizations: China, Auto, Ministry of Finance, Finance, China Passenger Car Association, EV, HK, Reuters, Berkshire, Volkswagen, Analysts, Tesla, Rystad Energy, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, SHANGHAI, China, BYD, Beijing, Hong Kong

The total tax breaks will amount to 520 billion yuan, Vice Minister of Finance Xu Hongcai said at a press conference. The announcement follows a June 2 Cabinet meeting during which authorities said they would extend and optimise the tax exemption and study policies to promote NEV development. The tax break was announced in 2014 and extended in 2017, 2020 and 2022. NEV sales rose 10.5% in May from a month earlier, showed data from the China Passenger Car Association. They jumped 60.9% from a year earlier when COVID-19 curbs still roiled auto production and sales.

Persons: Finance Xu Hongcai, Cui Dongshu, Li Auto, Susan Zou, Qiaoyi Li, Liz Lee, Siyi Liu, Donny Kwok, Miyoung Kim, Christopher Cushing Organizations: China, Auto, Ministry of Finance, Finance, China Passenger Car Association, EV, HK, Reuters, Tesla, Rystad Energy, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, SHANGHAI, China, BYD, Beijing, Hong Kong

☆ China lithium price rebound to be capped by growing supply - analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Production and sales of EVs in May grew by 53.7% and 71.2% respectively year-on-year, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed. Demand from the energy storage sector, the second biggest user of the battery metal, is also growing rapidly. "We are seeing the energy storage market is boosting capacity expansion of LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries and cathode materials, which in turn sends pressure to the price of lithium carbonate," Zou said. Zou expects the lithium carbonate price in China to average 300,000 yuan a ton this year. "The May growth seen in the auto market, boosted by short-term policy support, is unlikely to last and lithium prices might fall below 200,000 yuan within this year," he added.

Persons: Price, Susan Zou, Zou, Yang Jing, Chen Junquan, Chen, Siyi Liu, Dominique Patton, Andrew Hayley, Emma Rumney Organizations: China Passenger Car Association, Cell, Rystad Energy, EV, Beijing, China Corporate Research, Fitch, Economic Research Institute, Manufacturers, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Shanghai

☆ China's deflation worries deepen as consumer prices rise only 0.1% in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The producer price index, which measures factory-gate prices, declined by 3.6%, marking the biggest contraction in three years. The weak property sector recovery likely has exerted “persistent” downward pressure on the factory-gate prices, they added. A slump in the property sector affects demand for key raw materials such as steel and cement, which are key parts of the producer price index. Producer deflation will likely deteriorate, with the PPI expected to drop further by 3.9% on falling global commodity prices. Deflation is bad for the economy because, in such an environment, consumers and companies may put off spending in anticipation of prices falling further, which would only exacerbate economic problems.

☆ Argentina to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUENOS AIRES, April 26 (Reuters) - Argentina will start to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than dollars, the government announced Wednesday, a measure that aims to relieve the country's dwindling dollar reserves. In April, it aims to pay around $1 billion of Chinese imports in yuan instead of dollars and thereafter around $790 million of monthly imports will be paid in yuan, a government statement said. The decision aims to ease the outflow of dollars, Argentina's Economy minister Sergio Massa said during an event following a meeting with the Chinese ambassador, Zou Xiaoli, as well as with companies from various sectors. In November last year, Argentina expanded a currency swap with China by $5 billion, seeking to strengthen Argentina's international reserves. The agreement will allow Argentina "to work on the possibility" of advancing the rate of imports, Massa added, with yuan-denominated import orders being authorized in 90 days rather than the standard 180 days.

☆ China has an inflation problem. It’s way too low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s raising the specter of a tailspin of falling prices and wages from which the economy may struggle to recover. “Our core view is that China’s economy is deflationary,” wrote Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Research, last week, soon after China released its first-quarter GDP growth figures. Instead of spending money, people are hoarding cash at a record rate. “Even with a conservative estimate, 500 billion yuan in consumption vouchers will drive one trillion yuan in overall consumption, ” Li said in a video posted on his Weibo social media account on Tuesday. In return, the government could receive at least 300 billion yuan through taxes generated by the increase in spending, he said“So it only takes 200 billion yuan in spending for the central government to drive one trillion yuan in consumption,” he said.

☆ China's c.bank official says no basis for long-term deflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 20 (Reuters) - A recovery in Chinese consumer demand needs time to pick up due to the "scarring effect" of COVID-19, but there is no basis for any long-term deflation, an official from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Thursday. Despite the bounce in growth, consumer price inflation is slowing sharply and factory gate prices are in freefall. The PBOC expected consumer price inflation to pick up later this year, but there is no basis for sustained deflation or increases in inflation in China, Zou Lan, head of the monetary policy department at PBOC, told a news conference in Beijing. Amid the global economic recession jitters, Zou said the PBOC will continue to implement prudent monetary policy. Ruan Jianhong, spokesperson of the PBOC, expected household loan demand to steadily increase.

☆ China’s central bank expects ‘U-shaped’ recovery in consumer prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Workers at a factory making lithium battery products for domestic and international markets in Nantong, Jiangsu province, China. BEIJING — The People's Bank of China said Thursday it expects consumer prices to pick up this year, and that the central bank is not expecting inflation or deflation to become a significant problem for China. China's consumer price index hit an 18-month low in March, and rose 0.7% year-on-year. Zou added that in the medium to long term, China's economy has no basis for an inflationary or deflationary trend. He claimed that's because demand and supply in China's economy are even, and monetary policy is "reasonable."

Rystad Energy sees the global market deficit of lithium shrinking to around 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) this year, from 76,000 tonnes LCE in 2022. Out to 2025 it expects lithium supply to grow on average by 34% a year against an annual demand growth rate of 25%. MINERS UNFAZEDThe decline in lithium prices in China, the world's biggest consumer, has hit lithium producers overseas. LITHIUM CARBONATE SINKSThe price decline has been sharp. "A lithium carbonate price of 200,000-300,000 yuan per tonne is where both upstream and downstream will feel comfortable," said Rystad's Zou.

The flurry of deals comes even as warnings emerge that lithium prices, driven to records by rapid growth in electric vehicles, may peak next year because of a looming supply glut. It also bought majority stakes in the Lakkor Tso Lithium Salar mine in China's Tibet region and the Xiangyuan lithium mine in Hunan province. Zijin has a market capitalisation of about $35 billion and net profit of 15.7 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) last year. Some firms are also working to develop alternative battery materials, which could reduce lithium demand in the long term. Zijin told investors recently it made its mine acquisitions based on lithium carbonate prices of 100,000 yuan a tonne.

☆ China's BYD to sell EVs in Mexico in 2023, aims for up to 30,000 sales in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Kylie Madry | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] The interior of the BYD HAN EV is displayed as the Chinese electric-vehicle producer announces its expansion to the consumer market next year in Mexico, in Toluca, Mexico November 29, 2022. As per Mexico's Automotive Industry Association, just 4.5% of cars sold in the first eight months of this year were hybrid, or around 31,000 of nearly 693,000 sold in total. While BYD declined to name starting prices of its vehicles in Mexico, Zou stressed the company's affordability. BYD's Zou also said the company aimed to sell cars through 15 licensed dealers in Mexico by the end of 2023 and hit 30 by 2024. Zou said as U.S. states such as California go fully electric, Mexico — which produces a vast amount of cars for its northern neighbors — will likely follow.

☆ China's BYD to sell EVs in Mexico next year, aims up to 30,000 sales in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Kylie Madry | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD said on Tuesday it will launch its cars in Mexico next year, with a senior executive pegging its sales target at up to 30,000 vehicles in 2024. As per Mexico's Automotive Industry Association, just 4.5% of cars sold in the first eight months of this year were hybrid, or around 31,000 of nearly 693,000 sold in total. While BYD declined to name starting prices of its vehicles in Mexico, Zhou emphasized on the company's affordability. BYD's Zhou also said the company aimed to sell cars through 15 licensed dealers in Mexico by the end of 2023 and hit 40 by 2024. Mexican department store chain Liverpool will also sell the cars, BYD said.

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