Sajeev K Peter | Kuwait Times Newspaper

Sajeev K Peter

LAS VEGAS: Attendees sit in the XPENG AEROHT, a modular flying car, at XPENG’s booth during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. — AFP

Trump tariff threat spurs auto suppliers to rethink plans

LAS VEGAS: Global auto suppliers are working out how much of their production can be moved to the United States, or closer to it, as a defense against tariffs promised by President-elect Donald Trump, according to industry executives at CES in Las Vegas.The auto industry has already experienced eight years of US protectionism, from real and threatened tariffs during Trump’s first term and then more tariffs and the US Inflation Reduction Act...

No Image

KMWA hosts get-together to foster social harmony

The Karnataka Muslim Welfare Association (KMWA) hosted a successful Kannadiga get-together, titled ‘Sarva Janangada Shantiya Thota’ (The garden of peace for all people), in celebration of Karnataka Rajyotsava 2024, on December 26, 2024, at ICSK (Senior) in Salmiya. The event presided over by Jameel Ahmed, President of KMWA, aimed to foster peace and unity among diverse communities.The program began at 7.45pm. It was attended by a...

Traders and financial professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during the first session of the new year on January 2, 2025, in New York City. -- AFP

Wall St stocks bounce higher, Europe retreats

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks bounced higher on Friday, but European stock markets retreated as traders booked profits from a positive start to 2025. Asia’s main equity indices closed mostly higher, with Seoul jumping nearly two percent despite deepening political uncertainty in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.There were also gains for Hong Kong, Sydney and Taipei, although Shanghai slumped for a second session running. Wall Street ended lower...

Pedestrians walk past an electronic board showing the closing numbers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, along a street in central Tokyo.-- AFP

Global markets ring out 2024 with gains

PARIS: Wall Street stocks moved higher on Tuesday, looking to ring out the year with gains as did Europe’s main stock markets, as all eyes turn to 2025 and the impact that the policies of US President-elect Donald Trump will have on the global economy. Despite political upheavals, stock markets and bitcoin smashed records in 2024, fuelled by investor enthusiasm for AI, falling interest rates, and hopes of tax cuts. Here are four of the most...

NEW YORK: US stocks rallied as traders looked to close trading at the end of 2024.

AI boom, Fed rate cuts lift US stocks to new highs in 2024

NEW YORK: US stocks index futures edged higher in the last trading session of 2024, continuing its bull run from more than two years ago on signs of post-pandemic economic resilience, hopes of lower borrowing costs and AI boost. The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq are near record highs and are on track to end higher for a second straight year. A nearly 100-basis point cut in interest rates in 2024 by the Federal Reserve and a rally in technology stocks...

IMPHAL: In this file photo, women take part in a demonstration demanding the restoration of peace in India's north-eastern Manipur state.

Manipur CM apologizes for ethnic unrest

BENGALURU: The chief minister of India’s northeastern state of Manipur apologized on Tuesday for months of ethnic unrest that has killed at least 250 people and prompted criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government. The strife between the majority Meitei and the tribal Kuki communities in the state of 3.2 million people broke out in May 2023 and has displaced 60,000 people. Despite peace efforts, many Kukis and Meiteis have...

People bid adieu to the last sunset of year 2024, along a beach near the Arabian sea in Mumbai on December 31, 2024. -- AFP

Democracy bloodied but not beaten as it heads into 2025

LONDON: Democracy looks bruised but not beaten as it heads into 2025. In a year in which countries representing almost half the world’s population called voters to the polls, democracies endured violence and major scares, but also proved resilient.Former US President Donald Trump survived two assassination attempts and, despite fears of a contested result and unrest, he won back the White House in a clear victory and looks set for a peaceful...

A large screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a speech ahead of the New Year's eve celebrations in Beijing on December 31, 2024. -- AFP

No one can stop China reunification with Taiwan: Xi

BEIJING: No one can stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his New Year’s speech on Tuesday, laying down a clear warning to what Beijing regards as pro-independence forces within and outside of the island of 23 million people. In the past year, Beijing has stepped up military pressure near Taiwan, sending warships and planes almost daily into the waters and air space around the island in what...

A nurse looks on while helping members of the public donate blood at the Central Hospital in Maputo on December 28, 2024. -- AFP

Mozambique mourns dozens killed in two months of unrest

MAPUTO: One Mozambique family is mourning a 16-year-old girl shot dead on Christmas Day; another is devastated over the loss of a 22-year-old son, brother and breadwinner killed on the sidelines of a protest weeks earlier. Both deaths are blamed on security forces, like many of the nearly 280 lives lost in more than two months of violence in Mozambique sparked by a disputed election, according to a toll by a local NGO.Many of the dead are young...

Maysaa Sabrine

Syria names Sabrine as first woman to lead central bank

DAMASCUS: Syria’s new rulers have appointed Maysaa Sabrine, formerly a deputy governor of the Syrian central bank, to lead the institution as the first woman to do so in its more than 70-year history, a senior Syrian official said. Sabrine, a longtime central bank official mostly focused on oversight of the country’s banking sector, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.She replaces Mohammed Issam Hazime who was appointed...

UK study warns of perils in AI-driven ‘intention economy’

LONDON: Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tools may soon “covertly influence” users’ decision making in a new commercial frontier called the “intention economy”, University of Cambridge researchers warned in a paper published Monday.The research argues the potentially “lucrative yet troubling” marketplace emerging for “digital signals of intent” could, in the near future, influence everything from buying movie tickets...

Russian five ruble coins bearing the State Emblem and inscription "Bank of Russia" are pictured in Moscow ahead of the Russian Central Bank's key rate meeting. -- AFP

Russia central bank holds off rate hike after criticism

MOSCOW: Russia’s central bank kept interest rates at 21 percent on Friday despite surging inflation, a surprise decision that follows criticism from the country’s political and business elite over the effects of higher borrowing costs on the economy. Moscow has struggled to rein in inflation, which has soared during the Kremlin’s almost three-year offensive in Ukraine.Prices are rising fast across the Russian economy, pushed up by massive...

most read

1

Britain's King Charles III (L) welcomes Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, in London, on October 25, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt / POOL / AFP)

Amir’s visit to UK... a significant milestone in Kuwaiti British relations

2

Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah

Former interior, defense minister jailed for 14 yrs

3

Bader Al-Kharafi

Gulf Bank’s Islamic shift, KD 1.5bn value key achievements as Bader Al-Kharafi steps down

4

Maha Al-Sager performs, representing Kuwait during a gymnastics competition.

Against the odds: From Kuwait to rhythmic resilience

5

No Image

Amir departs to the UK at personal invitation of King Charles III