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☆ Japan is sending a 'sugar baby' to prison for 9 years for defrauding men out of $1M and selling a manual on how to do it
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A 25-year-old Japanese 'sugar baby' has been sentenced to nine years in prison. A court ruled that Mai Watanabe defrauded men she met on dating apps out of more than $1 million. AdvertisementA 25-year-old "sugar baby" was handed a nine-year prison sentence for defrauding men she met on dating apps out of more than $1 million, and selling a manual on how to carry out similar scams. Mai Watanabe, also known as "itadaki joshi Riri-chan," which translates as "sugar baby Riri," was sentenced by the Nagoya District Court on Monday, The Japan Times reported. Being a sugar baby can be financially rewarding.

Persons: Mai Watanabe, Watanabe, —, itadaki joshi, they're Organizations: Service, Japan Times, Nippon, Kyodo, Press, Federal Trade Commission, FTC Locations: Nagoya, Tokyo's Kabukichō, swindling

☆ SoftBank will reportedly invest nearly $1 billion in AI push, tapping Nvidia's chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Dylan Butts | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Signage at a SoftBank Corp. store in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank is looking to develop a "world-class" Japanese-language-specific generative artificial intelligence model, and plans to invest $960 million in the next two years to bolster its computing facilities, according to a Nikkei report. Training of large language models (LLM), such as OpenAI's Chat GPT, requires advanced graphics processing units, which SoftBank plans to purchase from U.S. chip giant Nvidia , the Nikkei reported Monday, citing anonymous sources. The investment of 150 billion yen ($960 million) will be spent in 2024 and 2025 and adds to 20 billion yen that SoftBank spent on computing infrastructure last year, the report said. According to another report from Nikkei Asia, Japan lacks private companies with the high-performance supercomputers that are needed to build LLM, despite increased interest in the tech.

Persons: SoftBank Organizations: SoftBank Corp, Nikkei, Nvidia Locations: Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Nikkei Asia

☆ Firm dollar drags yen down closer to intervention range
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A firm U.S. dollar had the yen locked near a fresh 34-year low on Tuesday, keeping investors on heightened intervention watch as they looked ahead to key U.S. inflation report and the Bank of Japan's rate decision this week. A firm U.S. dollar had the yen locked near a fresh 34-year low on Tuesday, keeping investors on heightened intervention watch as they looked ahead to key U.S. inflation report and the Bank of Japan's rate decision this week. Traders have been keeping wary eye as yen slips towards 155.00, a level considered by many participants as the new trigger for intervention by Japanese authorities. The weak yen complicates the BOJ's policy path, with some market players betting the central bank could come under pressure to hike rates sooner than it wants to slow the currency's decline. Markets are currently pricing in a 46% chance of the Fed's first rate cut starting in September, with November not far behind at 42%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Persons: Carol Kong, Shunichi Suzuki, BoE, Sterling, bitcoin Organizations: Bank of, Traders, Bank of Japan's, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Japan's Finance, Federal Reserve, Investors, Commonwealth Bank of Australia's, European Central Bank, Bank of England Locations: Japan, Iran, Israel, Tokyo, Japan's, U.S, Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Kong

☆ Chinese swimmers head to Paris Olympics under a cloud amid row over handling of drugs tests
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A dispute over the handling of a 2021 case in which 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance ahead of the Tokyo Olympics now threatens to overshadow swimming events at the Paris Games this summer. Sun is now free to return to competitions next month, but revelations about the 2021 case have cast Chinese swimmers and WADA in a harsh spotlight. Trimetazidine has the potential to boost endurance and has been banned by WADA since 2014. China’s national swimming championships, which serve as selection trials for the upcoming Olympics, are currently underway in Shenzhen, concluding on April 27. At the Tokyo Olympics, China won six medals in swimming, including three golds.

Persons: –, “, ” Mack Horton, Horton, Sun Yang, Sun, WADA, Adam Peaty, ”, Sarah Hirshland, Witold Banka, …, Trimetazidine, CHINADA, Ross Wenzel, trimetazidine, ” Wenzel, Denis Cotterell, Cotterell wasn’t Organizations: CNN, Tokyo, Paris Games, New York Times, ARD, Doping Agency, Olympic, “, Sydney Morning Herald, WADA, Canadian Olympic Committee, Paralympic, ”, CHINADA, Xinhua, Paris Olympics, Chinese Swimming Association, China Locations: Tokyo, China, Australian, South Korea, ”, trimetazidine, Shenzhen

☆ Spotify reports record quarterly profit after a year marked by deep layoffs and activist attention
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, notching record quarterly profit and beating estimates on the top and bottom lines, after a year of deep cost cutting and streamlining. The company expects net new MAUs of 16 million, for a total of 631 million monthly active users. Spotify attributed the slowed growth to "moderated marketing activity" — driven by cost cutting — resulting in "more normalized growth." ValueAct, which manages nearly $12 billion in assets, has a 0.5% Spotify stake valued at $280 million. When the activist investor first disclosed the position in 2023, it owned around 1.2% of Spotify.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Joe Rogan, MAUs, Mason Morfit's ValueAct Organizations: Spotify, LSEG, StreetAccount Spotify Locations: Tokyo, Swedish

☆ Japan and South Korea could coordinate currency intervention, but they may need U.S. support
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg via Getty ImagesInvestors have been monitoring for potential intervention in the Japanese yen, but recent comments have triggered discussion about "coordinated intervention" with South Korea. The currency has struggled, slipping past 150, since the Bank of Japan raised rates in March. Following that volatility, the U.S. last week acknowledged Japan and South Korea's "serious concerns" over the recent sharp depreciation in their currencies. The comments spurred chatter about possible coordinated currency intervention. Brady said South Korea and Japan could amplify their individual messages to the market by coordinating policy, which might also enhance the short-term impact compared to unilateral action.

Persons: SeongJoon Cho, James Brady, Brady Organizations: Korean, Woori, Bloomberg, Getty, U.S ., Bank of, South Korean, greenback, Authorities, Treasury, Bank of Japan Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Bank of Japan, U.S, Japan, South, Tokyo, Bank of Korea

☆ World Anti-Doping Agency defends handling of elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned drug
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —Global sport’s anti-doping watchdog has slammed as “outrageous” and “completely false” allegations that it mishandled a 2021 case in which more than 20 elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) made the comments after US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) chief Travis Tygart accused the agency and Chinese officials of having “swept these positives under carpet” and failing to follow the rules around drugs in sport. The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) said recent media reports about the cases were “misleading,” according to Chinese state agency Xinhua, citing a statement Saturday. In its statement Saturday, WADA said it was notified in June 2021 of CHINADA’s ruling on the swimmers who had tested positive earlier that year. “These are egregious failures even if you buy their story that this was contamination and a potent drug ‘magically appeared’ in a kitchen and led to 23 positive tests of elite Chinese swimmers,” Tygart said, referencing details included in The New York Times’ article citing a report from Chinese investigators.

Persons: “, WADA, Travis Tygart, CHINADA, Kamila Valieva, “ WADA, ” Tygart Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — Global, Doping Agency, New York Times, Tokyo Olympics, ARD, Tokyo Games, CNN, Chinese Olympic, Testing Agency, Xinhua, trimetazidine, “, TMZ, The New York Times Locations: Hong Kong, China, USADA, Xinhua, Russian

☆ Warren Buffett's love for Japan may be far from over after $8 billion paper profit
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has made billions of dollars from its big investments in Japan, and the Oracle of Omaha's love for the land of the rising sun is only growing deeper. The Omaha-based conglomerate priced 263.3 billion Japanese yen of bonds worth $1.7 billion, marking one of its biggest yen bond sales, according to a regulatory filing released Thursday. The cost of the positions was 1.6 trillion yen ($10.35 billion) and the 2023 yearend market value of the five stakes was 2.9 trillion yen ($18.76 billion), Berkshire revealed in its annual report. Meanwhile, the five Japanese trading companies are all dividend payers, yielding from 1% to more than 3%. Buffett even paid a visit to Japan with his designated successor Greg Abel and met with the heads of the Japanese firms last year.

Persons: Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, Chamath Palihapitiya, Greg Abel Organizations: Berkshire, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo ., Tokyo Stock Exchange Locations: Japan, Omaha, Berkshire, Sumitomo . Berkshire

☆ Airlines That Offer 'Stopover' Programs, Some With Free Hotels
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Airlines capitalize on this trend with "stopover" programs, some even offering free hotels and food. Airlines have jumped on this growing trend with built-in "stopover" programs, which can come with free or discounted hotels, excursions, transportation, and food at the layover destination. Essentially, you can't intentionally book a longer layover to quality for the free stopover hotel. Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty ImagesSingapore Airlines' stopover program is available via the multi-city tool, similar to other carriers, where travelers can add hotels, transfers, and activities. Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesTurkish Airlines' stopover program gives economy travelers a one-night free hotel stay and business flyers a two-night free stay if the period between their connecting flights in Istanbul exceeds 20 hours.

Persons: —, Robert Smith, Markus Mainka, Liang Xu, Nicolas Economou, Thomas Mukoya, Suparat, Finnair, Shutterstock Icelandair, Marcio Rodrigo Machado, Bauer, Griffin, Alexi Rosenfeld, CHARLY TRIBALLEAU, Massimo Insabato, It's, Matheus Organizations: Service, Airlines, Travelers, An Air Canada Boeing, Getty Images Air, Air France, KLM Air France, KLM, Air, China Southern Airlines, China Southern Airlines Airbus, Getty Images China Southern Airlines, Copa Airlines AP Copa Airlines, Copa, Emirates, Emirates Airbus, Getty Images Emirates, Dubai Connect, Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines, Reuters Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Etihad Airways Airbus, Shutterstock.com Etihad Airways, Fiji Airways Fiji Airways, Shutterstock Fiji Airways, Iberia Airbus, Japan, Japan Airlines Boeing, Japan Airlines, Latam Airlines Boeing, Latam Airlines, Hotels, An Oman Air, Getty Images Oman Air, Qantas, Getty, JAL, Oneworld, Qatar Airways, Qatar Airways Boeing, Getty Images Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian Airlines Royal Jordanian Airlines Boeing, Getty Images Royal Jordanian Airlines, Air Lines, Swiss International Air Lines Airbus, Getty Images Swiss, Singapore Airlines, Airbus, Getty Images Singapore Airlines, Portugal, TAP Air Portugal Airbus, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Turkish Airlines Airbus, Getty Images Turkish Airlines Locations: Getty Images Air Canada, Canada, Air France, Xinhua, Panama, Panama City, Emirates, Dubai, UAE, Addis Ababa, Abu Dhabi, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific, Helsinki, Iberia, Iberia Airbus Iberia, Madrid, Icelandair, Reykjavik, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, São Paulo, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Recife, Manaus, Curitiba, Belem, Oman, Muscat, layover, Bangkok, San Francisco, AFP, Switzerland, Singapore, Lisbon, Porto, Portuguese, Azores, Madeira, Istanbul

☆ Los Angeles firefighters fought investments in safer streets. For decades, fire regulations have made roads deadlier.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Street safety advocates say fire officials' focus on speed is making roads more dangerous. Many of the city's residents want to take action to make their streets safer. In March, LA voted overwhelmingly for a street safety policy that will finally enforce a nearly decade-old mobility plan to make the city's streets safer for non-drivers. Fire departments across the country have for decades opposed safer street design. He said fire departments can be convinced to support safer street design if they're heavily engaged by planners.

Persons: —, we're, didn't, Michael Schneider, isn't, Schneider, Johns Hopkins, aren't, what's, Patrick Siegman, Kazuhiro Nogi, Siegman, Andy Boenau, Dan Burden, they're, Burden, Dan Organizations: Service, LA, Vehicles, Business, LA ., Code, Getty, San Francisco, Supervisors, National Fire Protection Locations: Angeles, Los Angeles, America, LA, Texas, Osaka, Japan, Paris, France, American, Tokyo, AFP, Baltimore, California

☆ US journalist Terry Anderson, held in Lebanon hostage crisis for nearly 7 years, dead at 76
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Melissa Alonso | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Terry Anderson, the former Mideast correspondent for The Associated Press who was kidnapped in 1985 and held captive for nearly seven years in Lebanon, has died at 76, his daughter told CNN. The cause of death was unknown, though his daughter told the AP he had recently had heart surgery. “You’re sorry, sorry for your family, sorry you were dumb enough to get captured,” Anderson told CNN once about his capture. In a 2016 interview, Anderson told CNN that he didn’t think about his captivity often. And you do it, day after day after day,” he said.

Persons: CNN — Terry Anderson, Anderson, Sulome Anderson, “, ”, Terry Anderson, Madeleine Bassil, Mark Lennihan, “ You’re, ” Anderson, “ There’s, He’d, Anderson’s Organizations: CNN, Mideast, The Associated Press, AP, Lions, Vietnam Children’s Fund, Protect Journalists, Marines, Marine, Iowa State University, Associated Press Locations: Lebanon, Greenwood Lake , New York, Kentucky, Tokyo, South Africa, New York, Ohio, Japan, Vietnam, Iowa, Lebanese, Beirut, Iran, Damascus, “

The revelation that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug seven months before the Tokyo Olympics but were secretly cleared and allowed to continue competing has exposed a bitter and at times deeply personal rift inside the sport, and brought new criticism of the global authority that oversees drug-testing. An American Olympian who took home a silver medal from Tokyo said she felt her team had been “cheated” in a race won by China. A British gold medalist called for a lifetime ban for the swimmers involved. The sports minister in Germany, where a documentary on the case was broadcast Sunday, demanded an investigation. And a simmering feud between officials at the World Anti-Doping Agency, the global regulator known as WADA, and their U.S. counterparts burst into the open in a flurry of caustic statements and legal threats.

Persons: “, ”, WADA Organizations: New York Times, Tokyo Games, China, Doping Agency Locations: Tokyo, China, American, British, Germany

Whenever a suspicion of doping arises in an Olympics, attention can shift quickly from the athletes who won gold, silver and bronze medals to the ones who missed out. On Saturday, The New York Times published an investigation into an unreported case in which 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive for a powerful banned drug in 2021, only months before the Tokyo Olympics. The swimmers — who made up about half of the Chinese swimming team at those Games — were cleared by China’s antidoping authorities and the World Anti-Doping Agency and allowed to compete. The episode has not only alarmed experts in the antidoping community, but also raised other questions about athletes who tested positive, and what comes next: Which athletes? For now, the answer — both for the Chinese athletes and the dozens of swimmers who finished behind them, on and off the medals stand — is that nothing has changed.

Persons: —, China’s Organizations: The New York Times, Tokyo Olympics, Games, Doping Agency Locations: Tokyo

☆ Travel news: ‘World’s largest wildlife crossing’ being built in Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —In travel news this week: the world’s best and busiest airports, the European capital banning new hotels, the Hawaiian attraction being removed because of bad tourist behavior, plus the real-life animal crossing being built over a California freeway. Snakes will, however, be very welcome on “the world’s largest wildlife crossing,” under construction over the major 101 Freeway in Los Angeles. The Wallis Annenberg overpass will span 10 lanes and provide safe passage for mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, toads and even ants. World’s best and busiest airportsThe world’s busiest airports were revealed in an annual ranking released Monday, with Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International holding strong in the No. US National Park Week starts April 20, kicking off with a free entry day on Saturday to all NPS sites.

Persons: Wallis, It’s, Alyssa Kopp, Mary Gomes Kopp, Doha’s, Florence’s, it’s, America’s Organizations: CNN, Aegean Airlines, Atlanta’s Hartsfield, Jackson International, UAE, Qatar, Doha’s Hamad international Airport Locations: California, Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angeles, Crete, Europe, Dubai, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Canary, Spanish, Africa, Italy, Ponte, Lake Mead, Hawaii

☆ Takeaways From Our Chinese Swimming Investigation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Tariq Panja | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the first days of 2021, seven months before the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, 23 of China’s best swimmers tested positive for the same banned drug at a domestic meet. Chinese antidoping officials investigated and declared the case an unusual mass-contamination event that could be traced to the presence of a heart medication, trimetazidine, known as TMZ, in the kitchen of a hotel where the swimmers had stayed for a New Year’s event in late December 2020 and early January 2021. The World Anti-Doping Agency, the global authority that oversees national drug-testing programs, looked into the episode but then accepted that theory and allowed China to keep the results secret.

Organizations: TMZ, Doping Agency Locations: Tokyo, China

☆ Top Chinese Swimmers Tested Positive for Banned Drug, Then Won Olympic Gold
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Michael S. Schmidt | Tariq Panja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Twenty-three top Chinese swimmers tested positive for the same powerful banned substance seven months before the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 but were allowed to escape public scrutiny and continue to compete after top Chinese officials secretly cleared them of doping and the global authority charged with policing drugs in sports chose not to intervene. Several of the athletes who tested positive — including nearly half of the swimming team that China sent to the Tokyo Games — went on to win medals, including three golds. Many still compete for China and several, including the two-time gold medalist Zhang Yufei, are expected to contend for medals again at this year’s Summer Games in Paris. China acknowledged the positive tests in a report by its antidoping regulator, saying the swimmers had ingested the banned substance unwittingly and in tiny amounts, and that no action against them was warranted. But an examination by The New York Times found that the previously unreported episode sharply divided the antidoping world, where China’s record has long been a flashpoint.

Persons: Tokyo Games —, Zhang Yufei Organizations: Tokyo Olympic Games, Tokyo Games, New York Times, Aquatics, Doping Agency Locations: China, Paris

☆ Oasis launches a campaign at Kao Corp, but this battle is likely to be a difficult one
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Activist Commentary: Oasis Management is a global hedge fund management firm headquartered in Hong Kong with additional offices in Tokyo, Austin and the Cayman Islands. The hygiene and living care segment provides fabric, kitchen, home, sanitary and pet care products. Kao Corp is a global fast-moving consumer goods company with a diversified portfolio of products spanning from hair and skin care to cosmetics and chemicals. Oasis has proven to be a value-creating activist in many situations and would likely be a valuable board member here, but this is not a typical Oasis activist campaign. On the contrary, the day after Oasis launched its campaign, Kao stated that the firm lacked sufficient understanding of its portfolio management and restructuring plans.

Persons: Seth Fischer, Molton Brown, Kao, Kao's ROE, Beiersdorf, Aoki, Tsuruha, Oasis, ROE, Ken Squire Organizations: Oasis Management, Oasis, Business, Kao Corp, Tokyo Stock Exchange, onboarding, Kao, 13D Locations: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Austin, Cayman Islands, Asia, Europe, Japan

☆ These are the world's 10 best airports for 2024, according to passengers. None are in the US.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mikhail Markovskiy/ShutterstockCountry: Germany2023 Ranking: 7AdvertisementSkytrax Awards: Best Airport Staff in Europe, Best Airport in Central Europe, Best Airport Hotel in Europe (Hilton Munich Airport)7. Kazzure Gonzalez/Shutterstock.comCountry: JapanAdvertisement2023 Ranking: 9Skytrax Awards: World's Best Airport Staff, Best Airport Staff in Asia, Best Airport: 30-40 million passengers4. Sean Pavone / iStockCountry: Japan2023 Ranking: 3AdvertisementSkytrax Awards: World's Cleanest Airport, World's Best Domestic Airport, Best PRM and Accessible Facilities, Best Airport: 70+ million passengers, The Cleanest Airport in Asia3. Taylor Rains/Business InsiderCountry: Singapore2023 Ranking: 1Skytrax Awards: Best Airport in Asia, Best Airport Immigration Service, Best Airport: 50-60 million passengers, Best Airport Hotel in the World and Asia (Crowne Plaza Changi Airport)1. Thomas Pallini/Business InsiderCountry: QatarAdvertisement2023 Ranking: 2Skytrax Awards: World's Best Airport, Best Airport in the Middle East, World's Best Airport Shopping, Best Airport: 40-50 million passengers, The Cleanest Airport in the Middle East

☆ I gave birth to my daughter in Japan. My husband and I loved living there, but she needed better healthcare, so I moved back to the US.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Katie Spence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

We learned that Stella has spina bifidaShe couldn't lie on her back and had to be fed through a tube. Katie Spence's daughter Stella was in the NICU after she was born. Leaving and living without my husband full-time would be difficult, but getting Stella comprehensive care took precedence. The Texas Medical Center is a world-class medical destination, and we quickly had an appointment with a top pediatric neurosurgeon. Katie Spence says her daughter has received quality healthcare from the Texas Medical Center.

Persons: Stella, intubated, spina, Katie Spence's, Katie Spence Stella, couldn't, Katie Spence Organizations: Service, OB, Disease Control, Facebook, Texas Medical Locations: Japan, United States, Texas, Houston , Texas, Tokyo

☆ Oil prices jump on escalating tensions in the Middle East after strike on Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Oil prices jumped on Friday while Asian markets tumbled, with global investors worrying about an escalation in conflict in the Middle East after explosions were reported near the Iranian city of Isfahan. Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month. “Israel’s response could determine whether oil supplies are ultimately under threat.”Elsewhere, ongoing oil disruptions remain high, the analysts added. In Hong Kong, PetroChina, Asia’s largest oil and gas supplier, advanced 2.3%. Sinopec, the world’s largest oil refining company by capacity, rose 1.3%.

Persons: Brent, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ”, “, Korea’s Kospi, Cosmo Energy Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, ANZ, United, Stock, Nikkei, China’s, Energy, Eneos Corp, Oil Corp Locations: Hong Kong, Iranian, Isfahan, Israel, Iran, Syria, United States, Mexico, Asia, China’s Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul

☆ Opinion | Is the Internet the Enemy of Progress?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

But it’s 29 years old, written when the true internet era was still just a gleam in Al Gore’s eye. You could further argue that the passage predicted the Great Stagnation that Tyler Cowen identified in 2011, the productivity slowdown and disappointing economic growth that followed the initial 1990s-era internet boom. Writing for Quillette, he argues that globalization and homogenization have reduced cultural competition in roughly the way that the “Lost World” passage describes. It’s not just that we’re forgoing opportunities to improve our macro cultures. Shouldn’t we expect that macro cultures, when selection is weak, will drift into dysfunction just as firm cultures do?

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Michael Crichton’s, Crichton’s, Ian Malcolm, ” Malcolm, Al, John, Tyler Cowen, Malcolm, Crichton, Robin Hanson, It’s, Hanson, ” Organizations: Benetton, Western, George Mason University Locations: Bangkok, Tokyo, London, Al Gore’s, John Hammond’s, Davos, South Korea

☆ The world’s best airports for 2024, according to Skytrax
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

For the last decade, Singapore’s Changi International Airport and Doha’s Hamad International Airport have been going back and forth, battling over the title of ‘world’s best’. European airports dominateNine of the top 20 best airports are in Europe, including Vienna, Madrid and Istanbul. Kansai International Airport (KIX), which serves the Osaka area, scored the award for the world’s best airport baggage delivery. El Dorado International Airport (BOG), which serves Bogota, Colombia, was voted the best airport in South America, while Panama Tocumen Airport (PTY) won the honor of best airport for Latin America and the Caribbean. The world’s best airports for 20241.

Persons: CNN — Ali, Frazier, ‘, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, It’s, Charles de Gaulle, ORY, Indira, Skytrax, Paris Charles de Gaulle Organizations: CNN, The Red Sox, Yankees, Doha, Singapore, Singapore’s, Singapore’s Changi International Airport, Doha’s Hamad International, Hamad International, Airport, ” Qatar Airways Group’s, Oryx, Paris, Paris ’, Rome Fiumicino Airport, Zurich, Vantaa, Haneda, New, Chubu Centrair International, Kansai International, Vancouver International, Melbourne Airport, MEL, Australia, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Cape Town Airport, King Shaka International, El Dorado International, Panama Tocumen, TWA, New York JFK, Hyatt Regency Shenzhen, Hilton Munich Airport, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Doha Hamad, Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon, Tokyo Narita, Dubai, Munich, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Rome Fiumicino, Vienna, Madrid, Barajas, Vancouver, Kansai, Melbourne, Copenhagen Locations: Singapore’s Changi, Doha’s, Qatar’s, Singapore, Doha, “, Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, Vienna, Madrid, Istanbul, Paris, Skytrax, Rome, Helsinki, HEL, Japan, Asia, Haneda, Narita, New Chitose, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, North America, Down, Pacific, India, Cape, Africa, Durban, Bogota, Colombia, South America, Panama, America, Caribbean, New York, China, Tokyo, Vantaa

☆ Dollar takes a breather as investors ponder U.S. rates outlook
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar was soft on Thursday as traders assessed the U.S. interest rates outlook in the wake of comments from Federal Reserve officials that cemented expectation of monetary settings remaining restrictive for a while longer. The dollar was soft on Thursday as traders assessed the U.S. interest rates outlook in the wake of comments from Federal Reserve officials that cemented expectation of monetary settings remaining restrictive for a while longer. The yen strengthened 0.05% to 154.29 a dollar but remained close to the 34-year low of 154.79 touched on Tuesday. Japan last intervened in the currency market in 2022, spending an estimated $60 billion to defend the yen. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6439, while the New Zealand dollar eased a bit to $0.5914 after spiking 0.6% on Wednesday.

Persons: Sterling, Michelle Bowman, Kristina Clifton, Tony Sycamore Organizations: Federal Reserve, Traders, Market Committee, Federal, Fed, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, IG, Japan, New Zealand Locations: U.S, Japan, South Korea, Tokyo, Seoul

Singapore's Changi Airport has lost its pole position as the world's best airport to Doha's Hamad International Airport, according to air transport rating firm Skytrax. Travelers of more than 100 nationalities participated in the Skytrax survey, which also named Hamad International Airport as the best airport in the world for shopping. Changi Airport has been crowned the world's best airport 12 times by Skytrax, including winning first place consecutively from 2013 to 2020, and again in 2023. In this year's survey, the city-state's airport won the titles of "Best Airport in Asia" and the "World's Best Airport Immigration Service." Tokyo's other major international airport, Narita International Airport, ranked No.

Organizations: Doha's Hamad International Airport, Hamad International Airport, Changi, Immigration Service, Korea's, Narita International Airport, Best Airport Staff, Passengers Locations: Doha's, state's, Asia, —, Narita

☆ Lion Cafe: A classical music cafe in the middle of Tokyo’s busy Shibuya area
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Walking into the Lion Cafe, in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, the first thing one notices is the seating. “Meikyoku kissa is a place that plays classical music, where customers can listen to music, have a drink and relax,” says Naoya Yamadera, the current manager of the Lion Cafe. The cafe has more than 10,000 classical music CDs and records. Many people are not familiar with classical music, so I’d like them to get used to it in places like here,” says Yamadara. For more on the Lion Cafe, watch the video at the top of this story.

Persons: ”, Naoya Yamadera, Yanosuke, John S Lander, Yamadera, they’ve, “ Organizations: CNN, Lion Locations: Tokyo’s Shibuya, Tokyo, America, Europe, Japan

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