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London/Hong Kong CNN —McDonald’s has been hit by a system failure in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, with many stores forced to close and online ordering suspended. “Many stores across the country have temporarily suspended operations,” McDonald’s Japan said in a post on X Friday. “There is currently a system failure,” it said earlier. McDonald’s stores around Australia were affected by a major outage Friday, with customers struggling to place orders, CNN affiliate 9 News reported. Please order directly at the restaurant counter.”In the UK, Maria Avram, who works at a McDonald’s store in London, told CNN that there was a system outage between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m and 3 a.m.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — McDonald’s, CNN McDonald’s Hong, Maria Avram, McDonald’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, CNN McDonald’s, Facebook Locations: Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, CNN McDonald’s Hong Kong, London

☆ Yeezy fiasco helps push Adidas into loss as US sales continue to fall
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

“Going forward, the company expects the tax rate to normalize again as its operating profit improves,” Adidas said in a statement. Sales in North America — the company’s second-biggest market — declined more than 16% in 2023, partly because Adidas slashed sales to wholesalers in order to reduce their high levels of inventory. The company expects its sales in the region to fall again this year, by around 5%. Globally, sales of Adidas footwear, which includes popular Samba and Gazelle sneakers, were up 4%, in contrast with a 6% fall for Adidas apparel. On a different measure of earnings, the company recorded an operating profit of €268 million ($293 million) last year.

Persons: Ye, Harm Ohlmeyer, “, ” Adidas, Bjørn Gulden, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Adidas Locations: North America, China

☆ Novo Nordisk stock: The company behind Ozempic and Wegovy is now bigger than Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —First, Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, outgrew its native Denmark. Investors rushed into Novo Nordisk’s stock after the company reported early-stage results from a trial of amycretin, an experimental weight loss drug that can be taken in pill form. Novo Nordisk, once the little-known maker of diabetes drug Ozempic, has ballooned in value as the drug’s off-label use for weight loss has spread. By contrast, shares of Novo Nordisk are up by 30% this year, and by nearly 80% over the past 12 months. The companies have cornered the global market for weight loss drugs that mimic GLP-1, a naturally-occurring hormone that suppresses appetite.

Persons: Grégoire, ”, Jens Naervig Pedersen, “, Tesla, Elon Musk’s Tesla, China’s, Eli Lilly, “ Novo, Lilly, It’s, Musk, Jeff Bezos Organizations: London CNN, Novo Nordisk, Pictet, Management, CNN, US Food and Drug Administration, Nordisk “, Danske Bank, EV, Reuters, “, Amazon, Bloomberg Locations: Novo, Denmark, Novo Nordisk’s, Danish, United States, Berlin, Germany, Europe, Pictet, EVs

☆ Lufthansa is hurting as Germany is gripped by strikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The strikes have also discouraged numerous customers from booking flights — particularly last-minute ”profitable” flights — resulting in a ”significant sales loss” for the company, he added. Lufthansa Group reported operating profit of around €2.7 billion ($2.9 billion) — the third-biggest in its history, and up 76% from 2022. The Verdi union, which represents 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff, had called for them to go on strike from early Thursday and until Saturday morning. The strikes are just the latest in a wave of industrial action in Germany, famed for its strong legal protections for workers, and follow walkouts by train drivers in January over wages. Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s state-owned rail operator, said it expected the industrial action to have a “massive” impact on its operations.

Persons: Berlin CNN —, Remco Steenbergen, Verdi, Marvin Reschinsky, Michael Niggemann, Chris Stern, Olesya Dmitracova, Eve Brennan, Rob North Organizations: Berlin CNN, Berlin CNN — Germany’s, Lufthansa Group, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Security, Hamburg, Monetary Fund, Deutsche Bahn Locations: Berlin, €, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Germany, Germany’s, London

☆ UK ‘non-dom’ tax status, explained
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“Those with the broadest shoulders should pay their fair share,” UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt told parliament Wednesday. ‘Colonial concept’The non-dom regime is an “archaic colonial concept,” which determines a person’s tax status based on their “intended” place of residence, said Arun Advani, an economics professor at the University of Warwick. The opposition Labour Party had previously said it would abolish the non-dom regime if it came to power, and spend the money raised on the National Health Service. Yui Mok/Pool/AFP/Getty ImagesMurty has since renounced those advantages, citing the “British sense of fairness” and the “distraction” her tax status posed to her husband, who was serving as the UK’s finance minister at the time. But in November 2022 Hunt defended the “non-dom” status.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, ” Hunt, Arun Advani, Advani, Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murty, Yui Mok, Murty, Hunt, “ I’m, ” Organizations: London CNN, Britain’s Conservative, Revenue, Customs, London School of Economics, Political Science, University of Warwick, Labour Party, National Health Service, Britain's, Getty, BBC Locations: United Kingdom, Britain, India, Buckingham, London

☆ Greggs overtakes McDonald’s to become king of the British breakfast
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Brits are going crazy for the bacon and sausage buns offered by Greggs, an 85-year-old chain of budget bakeries that just posted its best-ever performance. Pre-tax profit also jumped more than 13% last year to a record high of nearly £168 million ($213 million). Greggs’ breakfast meal deal — which includes a sausage, bacon or omelette-filled bun and a drink — starts at £2.85 ($3.62), and is particularly popular with customers, a company spokesperson told CNN. Sales grew to a record £1.8 billion ($2.3 billion) last year, up from £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) in 2021. Greggs café, Tasty by Greggs, inside Primark's Oxford Street store in London in October 2022.

Persons: London CNN —, Greggs, Ireland —, McDonald’s, Roisin Currie, “ Greggs, ” Matt Britzman, Hargreaves Lansdown, Greggs café, John Nguyen, benedict — Greggs Benedict, Still, Alex Morton Organizations: London CNN, Ireland, CNN, Press Association, AP Locations: United Kingdom, Newcastle, England, London, Fenwick

☆ Apple hit with landmark $2 billion EU antitrust fine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The European Union has fined Apple €1.84 billion ($2 billion) for breaking its competition laws. The bloc announced Monday that it would impose the fine — its first-ever antitrust penalty on the US tech giant — for preventing rival music streaming services such as Spotify from telling iPhone users that they could find cheaper ways to subscribe outside of Apple’s app store. The European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into Apple in 2020 after Spotify (SPOT) lodged a complaint against Apple the previous year, accusing it of unfairly disadvantaging its competitors. It said Apple required the Swedish music streamer and other content providers to pay a 30% fee on purchases made through Apple’s in-app payment system, while its own service, Apple Music, didn’t have to pay the fee. Spotify also said Apple prevented it from sharing information about subscription deals with customers who use iPhones.

Persons: Margrethe Vestager, ” Vestager Organizations: London CNN, European Union, Apple, Spotify, European Commission, Apple Music, Digital Markets, Big Tech Locations: Apple’s

☆ A global tax on billionaires is on the G20 agenda. Will it ever happen?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Finance officials from the world’s biggest economies began talks this week on introducing a global minimum tax on billionaires. According to the EU Tax Observatory, the super-rich in big countries pay a far smaller share of their income in taxes than ordinary people. The world’s current patchwork of tax regimes fails “to properly tax the individuals with the highest ability to pay taxes,” he added. The negotiations on a minimum tax on corporations took years,” Quentin Parrinello, senior policy advisor at the EU Tax Observatory, told CNN. Practical headachesA global minimum tax on billionaires would be more complicated to implement than the one introduced for corporations, says Arun Advani, an economics professor at the University of Warwick.

Persons: ” Gabriel Zucman, ” Quentin Parrinello, ” Parrinello, Arun Advani, “ It’s, ” Advani, “, ’, Advani, ” Organizations: London CNN — Finance, EU, Observatory, Oxfam, EU Tax Observatory, Independent, Climate Finance, European Union, CNN, University of Warwick Locations: São Paulo, Brazil, France, Italy, United States, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, London, New York

☆ Meta accused of ‘massive, illegal’ data collection operation by European consumer rights groups
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —European consumer rights groups have accused Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, of carrying out a “massive” and “illegal” operation of collecting data from hundreds of millions of users in the region. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), an umbrella body for 45 consumer groups, said eight of the groups were filing complaints with their respective national data protection authorities Thursday. The company’s practices, the groups argue, breach parts of the European Union’s signature data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. Several days later, Meta launched a subscription service allowing its European users to pay up to €12.99 ($14) a month to use ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram. The organization filed a complaint with European consumer protection authorities in November, arguing that this “pay-or-consent” approach was an example of an unfair and “aggressive” commercial practice prohibited under EU law.

Persons: Meta, “, Ursula Pachl, Brian Fung Organizations: London CNN, Facebook, European Consumer Organisation, General Data, CNN, Meta Locations: Europe, United States

☆ Meet the ‘Granolas,’ Europe’s answer to the Magnificent 7 stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —The Magnificent 7 tech stocks have been a big part of the extraordinary US market rally. But there’s a rival group of companies powering European stocks to new heights with even better returns, by some measures. Dubbed the “Granolas,” those 11 companies accounted for 60% of the gains on Europe’s benchmark stock index over the past 12 months. They have even slightly outperformed the Magnificent 7 over a longer period, according to Goldman Sachs. Their standout performance has “raised the issue of concentration effects” in the region’s stock market, says Philip Lawlor, managing director of markets research at Wilshire Indexes.

Persons: London CNN —, Goldman Sachs, ASML, ” Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs, Guillaume Jaisson, Ozempic, ‘, Philip Lawlor, ” Lawlor Organizations: London CNN, GSK, Roche, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, L’Oréal, AstraZeneca, SAP, Sanofi, “, CNN, Danish, Wilshire Indexes, —, Deutsche Bank Locations: LVMH, Europe, France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

☆ Ryanair says it may have to raise fares and cut flights this summer because of Boeing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Ryanair may be forced to cut flights and raise fares in the peak summer season this year because crisis-hit Boeing can’t deliver the planes it promised. Until recently, Ryanair was expecting Boeing to deliver 57 Max 8-200 planes by the end of April, Reuters reported O’Leary as saying. “We don’t really know how many aircraft we’re going to get from Boeing,” he said, according to Reuters. If only 40 aircraft are delivered, Ryanair may have to “announce some minor schedule cuts” by the end of March, O’Leary was reported as saying. I think we (will) get some modest compensation out of Boeing,” O’Leary said.

Persons: Michael O’Leary, Max, O’Leary, ”, airfares, “ It’s, ” O’Leary, “, David Calhoun, Brian West Organizations: London CNN, Ryanair, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Reuters, CNN Locations: Ryanair’s Ireland

☆ Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked a defense boom. It’s likely to outlast the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“While some Ukraine-related orders are starting to come through, restocking and the impact of ongoing defense spending increases will be evident further down the line,” he noted. ‘Era of insecurity’Continued US military support for Ukraine on the scale of the past two years is looking increasingly unlikely. But the pressure on Western governments to beef up their military coffers will outlast the Ukraine war, analysts say, and it started to rise even before Moscow sent its troops marching toward Kyiv two years ago. The febrile global environment has helped lift the shares of Renk, a newly-listed German maker of military tank gearboxes, including those donated by Berlin to Ukraine. And this appeal is unlikely to fade soon, given growing defense spending by governments.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, That’s, Jens Stoltenberg, ” Trevor Taylor, Russia wouldn’t, Micael Johansson, Johansson, “, Charles Woodburn, ”, House Republicans —, Donald Trump, Moscow, Oli Scarff, Trump, Joe Biden, Houthi, It’s, Susanne Wiegand, Myles Walton, Sweden’s, … Organizations: London CNN, Russia, Kyiv, BAE Systems, Thales, Rheinmetall, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, Royal United Services Institute, CNN, Saab, Ukraine, House Republicans, Republican, Kiel Institute, European Union, Getty, International Institute, Strategic, Renk, Reuters, New, Wolfe Research, Sweden’s Saab Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, United States, Canada, Russia, London, Europe, Swedish, Poland, Kyiv, Congress, German, European, Newcastle, Tyne, England, AFP, Beijing, Taiwan, China, Israel, Red, Berlin, Frankfurt, Gaza, New York

☆ Bitcoin stages a $1 trillion comeback
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Bitcoin is back with a $1 trillion dollar bang. In contrast to traditional currencies, the supply of bitcoin is limited and is expected to peak in 2140, according to the price-tracking website for cryptocurrencies. The value of bitcoin has risen nearly 13% since January 10, when US regulators gave the green light to investment firms wishing to offer such funds. In January, before approving bitcoin exchange-traded funds, Gary Gensler, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, said on X: “A number of major platforms & crypto assets have become insolvent and/or lost value. Investments in crypto assets continue to be subject to significant risk.”

Persons: London CNN — Bitcoin, ” Gareth Rhodes, Gary Gensler, ” Organizations: London CNN, cryptocurrencies, CNN, New York State Department of Financial Services, US Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: CoinMarketCap, bitcoin

☆ The EU opens formal probe into TikTok over online protection of children
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

“The opening of proceedings means that the (European) Commission will investigate TikTok’s functionalities, systems and policies related to certain suspected infringements. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation,” a spokesperson for the bloc’s executive arm said in a statement Monday. TikTok’s age verification tools, aimed at preventing children from accessing inappropriate content, “may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective,” the European Commission said in a press release Monday. TikTok has almost 136 million monthly active users in the EU, according to the European Commission. It is the second time in as many months that the commission has launched formal proceedings against a large social media company.

Persons: ”, China’s ByteDance, TikTok, “, X Organizations: London CNN, European Union, Digital Services, Commission, European Commission, CNN, Social, European Commission . Companies

☆ Uber, Lyft and Deliveroo workers in US and UK plan Valentine’s Day strike
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Thousands of drivers for ride hailing services and food delivery riders in the United States and United Kingdom are planning to strike on Valentine’s Day in disputes over pay and working conditions. Meanwhile, in the UK, a spokesperson for campaign group Delivery Job UK said more than 3,000 food delivery riders were expected to strike for five hours on Wednesday. Riders participating in the strike are primarily Portuguese-speaking and work across multiple platforms, including Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat. “Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, but it should not overshadow our struggle,” it added. The company said GMB, one of Britain’s largest unions, was now able to represent up to 70,000 Uber drivers across the country.

Persons: Uber, “, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, ”, Lyft, DoorDash, GMB Organizations: London CNN, App Workers, DoorDash, Riders, London Locations: United States, United Kingdom, America, East Coast, Midwest, Chicago, Miami

☆ The dollar is back. It’s not all good news
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —The greenback is strengthening again after a bumpy 2023, as Wall Street accepts that interest rate cuts are coming later than previously expected. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against the British pound, euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona, is up 2.8% for the year as of Friday morning. “All of a sudden the interest rate differential kicks in — if that is slower than the Fed or faster,” said Krosby. Higher interest rates tend to garner more international capital to flow into a country, raising demand for the currency and thus its value. Still, Todd Jones, chief investment officer at Gratus Capital, says he expects the dollar to trend lower eventually as the Fed gets closer to cutting rates.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Quincy Krosby, ”, Neel Kashkari, Todd Jones, Jones, Anna Cooban, Richard Meade, Janet Yellen, Alicia Wallace, Yellen, ” Yellen Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Swiss, Canadian, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, LPL, Treasury, Minneapolis, Gratus, Fed, Hamas, Lloyds, CNN, Banking Committee Locations: New York, Swedish, Iran, Suez, Asia, Europe

☆ Red Sea crisis: How global trade is being upended by attacks on container ships
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That’s added as much as two weeks to a typical East-to-West journey for container ships, and 18 days for slower bulk carriers and tankers. Global container shipping costs are less than half their level during the coronavirus pandemic, which peaked at $10,380 in September 2021. Even so, he said, container shipping is “very cost-effective” as many goods can be packed into a single shipping container. The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023. Fewer oil tankers have avoided the Red Sea than container ships, which the Houthi militants more closely identify with Western countries allied with Israel.

Persons: Richard Meade, Tesla, Peter Sand, Good Hope, That’s, ”, Lloyd —, “, ” Simon MacAdam, ” Maersk, Meade Organizations: London CNN —, Hamas, Lloyds, CNN, Maersk, Hapag, Carriers, Global, Container, Capital Economics, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, Galaxy Leader, Houthi Military Media, Reuters Locations: Iran, Suez, Asia, Europe, Germany, Swedish, Africa, South Africa’s, Good, Sand, Vietnam, Drewry, Shanghai, China, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Xeneta, Israel, United States, Canada

☆ Premarket stocks: Wall Street is worried about another regional banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But while the last crisis was all about interest rate risk, this one revolves around the $20 trillion commercial real estate market. What’s happening: After decades of growth bolstered by low interest rates and easy credit, commercial real estate has hit a wall. The increase was driven partly by expected losses on commercial real estate loans, it said. “As losses from a [commercial real estate] loan portfolio accumulate, they can spill over into the broader financial system,” they wrote. “There’s some smaller and regional banks that have concentrated exposures in these areas that are challenged and we’re working with them,” he said.

Persons: It’s, Goldman Sachs, Anna Cooban, Janet Yellen, Jerome Powell, Gary Gensler, ”, Chip Somodevilla, She’s, Powell, “, ” McDonald’s, McDonald’s, Jordan Valinsky, Samantha Murphy Kelly, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, New York Community Bancorp, US Regional Bank, Japan’s Aozora Bank, Deutsche Bank, Canadian Public Pension Investment Board, Boston Properties, US Securities and Exchange, Financial, Biden, Senate, CBS, Verizon, Old Telephone Service, landlines, UK, Consumers, CNN, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: New York, Manhattan, Boston, Washington ,, East, United States, California, France, California ”

☆ China is pumping money into stocks and markets are loving it
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Shanghai Composite, mainland China’s benchmark index for large state-owned companies and blue-chip stocks, ended up 3.2% on Tuesday, ending a six-day losing streak. By Monday, about $6.1 trillion in market value had been wiped from the Chinese and Hong Kong stock markets since their recent peaks in February 2021. Central Huijin Investment, the equity arm of state-owned China Investment Corp, announced Tuesday that it had recently expanded its holdings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on mainland stock markets. The intensified efforts came after Chinese markets resumed their slide on Monday, when more than 1,800 stocks fell by more than 10% in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Tuesday’s rally in China was in contrast to other markets in the region.

Persons: “, Australia’s, Evergrande, Anna Cooban Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Alibaba, Huijin Investment, China Investment Corp, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Central Huijin Investment, Embassy, Nikkei, Kospi Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Europe, Beijing, United States

☆ Chinese stocks are melting down again after worst week in years
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Banks are being rocked again as real estate losses mount
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The regional lender set aside $552 million in the fourth quarter to absorb loan losses, up from $62 million in the previous quarter. The increase was driven partly by expected losses on a loan used to finance an office building, it said. ET as shares in NYCB, as well as other regional banks, suffered sharp losses. Much bigger players are girding themselves for losses linked to commercial real estate. Europe’s benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index, which tracks 42 big EU and UK banks, is up 23% since a low in late March.

Persons: Thomas Cangemi, Brendan McDermid, Julius Baer, Philipp Rickenbacher, Arnd Wiegmann, Reuters Philip Lawlor, ”, “, ” Lawlor, CNN’s Matt Egan Organizations: London CNN, Credit Suisse, New York Community Bancorp, New York Stock Exchange, Japan’s Aozora Bank, Federal Reserve, ”, CNN, Signa Group, Chrysler, Reuters, Deutsche Bank, Bank, Suisse —, UBS, Wilshire Indexes, KBW Locations: Europe, New York, Tokyo, Zurich, California, Republic, NYCB, Banc, Swiss, Austrian, Switzerland

☆ Taylor Swift songs pulled from TikTok in payment dispute
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Universal Music Group has pulled its music off TikTok in a dispute over royalties, a move that prevents more than 1 billion users of the platform from streaming a vast catalog of songs by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Rihanna and other artists. Many TikTok videos featuring Universal artists’ music went silent Thursday, with notices saying the sound had been removed because of copyright violation. For people making new videos, Universal music was unavailable in TikTok’s catalog. Like other music companies, Netherlands-based Universal charges royalty fees when its songs are played on social media platforms. Universal also said it had been pressing TikTok to better protect musicians from “the harmful effects” of artificial intelligence and to ensure online safety for TikTok’s users.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, J Balvin, Amy Winehouse, TikTok, Universal, ”, ” TikTok, ” Elizabeth Wagmeister Organizations: London CNN — Universal, ’, Universal, CNN Locations: Netherlands

☆ Universal Music Group pulls Taylor Swift’s songs off TikTok in dispute over payments
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Universal Music Group has pulled its music off TikTok, preventing more than 1 billion users of the platform from streaming a vast catalog of songs by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Rihanna and other artists. TikTok allows its users to add music to their videos. TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, had proposed paying a “fraction” of the rate that similarly-sized social media platforms pay, Universal said. Like other music companies, Netherlands-based Universal charges royalty fees when its songs are played on social media platforms. TikTok is allowing its platform to be “flooded” with AI-generated music, and provides users with tools to create their own AI-generated recordings, Universal said.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Universal, TikTok, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, J Balvin, Amy Winehouse, ”, ” TikTok, ” Elizabeth Wagmeister Organizations: London CNN — Universal, TikTok, Universal Locations: Netherlands

☆ The global economy is expanding, but the Red Sea crisis could spell trouble, says IMF
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —The outlook for the global economy is brightening, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday as it upgraded its growth forecast for 2024. It expects global growth in gross domestic product — a key measure of economic activity — to pick up slightly to 3.2% next year. Despite the IMF’s upgrades, its projections for global growth for 2024 and 2025 are below the annual average of 3.8% clocked up over the first two decades of this century. The longer and costlier journeys have raised fears of a renewed rise in global inflation. An escalation in the Israel-Hamas war into a wider conflict in the Middle East would threaten global growth, the fund added.

Persons: Pierre, Olivier Gourinchas, Valerie Plesch Organizations: London CNN, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Federal Reserve, Bloomberg, Getty Images, Hamas Locations: Ukraine, Red, United States, India, Washington , DC, Getty Images Iran, Israel

☆ Europe narrowly avoids a recession
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Europe’s economy avoided ending 2023 in a recession by the narrowest of margins, official data showed Tuesday. In the July-to-September quarter, GDP dipped 0.1%. Europe’s economy has struggled to regain momentum following the pandemic, hamstrung by high inflation and rapid interest rate hikes to combat it. The French economy, Europe’s second-largest, stagnated in the fourth quarter but grew 0.7% over the whole of 2023. He expects the eurozone economy to “flatline” in the first half of 2024 “as the effects of past monetary tightening continue to feed through and fiscal policy becomes more restrictive.”

Persons: —, Russia’s, ‘, Christoph Weil, ”, ” “, Jack Allen, Reynolds, “ Organizations: London CNN, Gross, Eurostat, Union, EU, ’, Commerzbank, European Central Bank, Capital Economics, ECB Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Italy, Spain

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