Author: i2wtc

Jonathan McKernan, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sits on the day he testifies during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025. Annabelle Gordon | ReutersPresident Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday withstood grilling from Democrat senators who repeatedly asked him to confirm that he would uphold his legal obligations to run the agency.Pressed by senators including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jonathan McKernan, a former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board member, told lawmakers…

This photo taken on Feb. 26, 2025 shows smart equipment running at a coil factory in Harbin Electric Machinery Company Ltd. in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Wang Song)HARBIN, Feb. 27, 2025 (Xinhua) — As one of the oldest industrial bases of China, Heilongjiang in northeast China has been leveraging digital intelligence and other advanced technologies to reshape its traditional industrial sectors in recent years.Harbin Electric Corporation based in the provincial capital of Harbin is among the many industrial players to enable high-quality, efficient and sustainable development through digital intelligence.Thanks to optimized business structures, Harbin Electric Machinery Company Ltd., Harbin…

Rights chief Turk warns of ‘explosion into chaos’ unless action is taken to end war as famine strikes deeper.More than 600,000 people in Sudan are “on the brink of starvation” as famine stalks the war-torn country, the United Nations has warned. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Thursday that famine had taken hold in five areas across the country, including Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur, where the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and medical charity Doctors Without Borders (known by its French initials, MSF) were forced to suspend operations amid escalating violence earlier this week. Addressing the…

Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive officer of Dell Inc., speaks during the Dell Technologies World conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Monday, May 20, 2024.Bridget Bennett | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesDell reported fourth-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates but earnings topped Wall Street expectations. Here’s how the hardware company did versus LSEG consensus estimates:Revenue: $23.9 billion, versus $24.55 billion estimatedEPS: $2.68, adjusted, versus $2.53 estimated.Dell shares are down less than 5% so far in 2025, but the company’s stock has more than doubled in the last two years due to soaring demand for artificial intelligence systems,…

Listen to article LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced plans to release a white paper evaluating the performance of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in Punjab during its first year in office. Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition in Punjab, Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, sharply criticised the provincial government, alleging that public funds were being misused for self-promotion. Without directly naming Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, he accused the administration of diverting state resources toward promoting her and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Bhachar further revealed PTI’s intent to challenge the…

Bilateral talks on embassy issues in Istanbul come as Trump positions himself as main broker in Ukraine peace deal.President Vladimir Putin has expressed “hope” over the prospect of Russia restoring relations with the United States as the two countries sent diplomats to Istanbul for talks on normalising the functioning of their respective embassies in each other’s capitals. Addressing a meeting of the Federal Security Service, Putin hailed the new administration of US President Donald Trump for its “pragmatism and realistic view”, describing a “reciprocal mood” to reset relations and resolve “systemic and strategic problems … in the world’s security architecture”.…

Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., during the opening ceremony of the Siliconware Precision Industries Co. (SPIL) Tan Ke Plant in Taichung, Taiwan, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. An Rong Xu | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesNvidia is out, leaving Apple as the sole member of the $3 trillion club.The chipmaker’s shares slumped more than 8% on Thursday following quarterly earnings, wiping out about $273 billion in value and giving the company a market cap of $2.94 trillion. The S&P 500 index fell 1.6% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.8%.Nvidia is still the second most valuable U.S. tech company,…

The Paramount Global headquarters in New York on Aug. 27, 2024.Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesParamount Global told its employees this week that it’s ending numerous diversity, equity and inclusion policies, according to a memo obtained by CNBC.In the memo sent to employees Wednesday, Paramount said it would comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order banning the practice in the federal government and demanding that agencies investigate private companies over their DEI programs.Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins cited the executive order in the memo, as well as the Supreme Court and federal mandates, as the impetus…

BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — A press center for China’s annual sessions of its top legislature and political advisory body, known as the “two sessions,” opened Thursday at the Media Center Hotel in Beijing. The third session of the 14th National People’s Congress and the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference will kick off on March 5 and March 4, respectively.Follow Xinhua correspondent Smiley to take a look inside the press center. A reporter takes photos at the press center for China’s annual sessions of its top legislature and political advisory body in Beijing,…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: British American Tobacco (BAT) has urged the government to review its heavy taxes on smokeless products, including vapours, and to clamp down on the illicit trade of cigarettes that is expected to dent state revenue by Rs34 billion in this fiscal year. A delegation of BAT and its affiliate Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) met Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb this week, said company officials on Wednesday. Last year, the government increased duties on vapours by 2,500%, which required at least 3,000% increase in prices to reach even breakeven point, said Asad Shah, a PTC executive. He said PTC had…