The departure of pandas will leave legions of Japanese admirers bereft, but it is also symptomatic of a dramatic deterioration in China-Japan relations The panda house at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is not due to open for several hours, but visitors are already milling around its entrance, pausing to pose for photographs in front of murals of the facility’s most beloved residents. A short walk away the gift...
The departure of pandas will leave legions of Japanese admirers bereft, but it is also symptomatic of a dramatic deterioration in China-Japan relations The panda house at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is not due to open for several hours, but visitors are already milling around its entrance, pausing to pose for photographs in front of murals of the facility’s most beloved residents. A short walk away the gift shop is doing a roaring trade in themed souvenirs – from cuddly toys and stationery to T-shirts and biscuits. The visitors are here to say goodbye to Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei. Early next week, the twin pandas, born at the zoo in 2021 but technically on loan from China , will be flown out of Tokyo’s Narita airport to China, where they will undergo quarantine and be reunited with their sister, Xiang Xiang, at a conservation and research centre in Sichuan province. Continue reading...
Malaysia’s next general election may well be decided by the country’s millions of young voters and its biggest conservative Islamist party is determined to win them over. For the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), winning young people’s support means dominating the online spaces they inhabit. “Whoever controls [online] media will gain their votes,” said the party’s deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim T...
Malaysia’s next general election may well be decided by the country’s millions of young voters and its biggest conservative Islamist party is determined to win them over. For the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), winning young people’s support means dominating the online spaces they inhabit. “Whoever controls [online] media will gain their votes,” said the party’s deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, in an interview with This Week in Asia. Founded by religious scholars in 1951 amid the...
Vietnam saw its exports of durians to China soar by US$500 million last year, as the country shook off earlier phytosanitary issues and leveraged its geographic advantages to outcompete its Southeast Asian rivals in the lucrative Chinese market. Growers from Vietnam shipped US$3.44 billion of the spiky, pungent fruit to China in 2025, up from US$2.94 billion the previous year, Chinese customs data...
Vietnam saw its exports of durians to China soar by US$500 million last year, as the country shook off earlier phytosanitary issues and leveraged its geographic advantages to outcompete its Southeast Asian rivals in the lucrative Chinese market. Growers from Vietnam shipped US$3.44 billion of the spiky, pungent fruit to China in 2025, up from US$2.94 billion the previous year, Chinese customs data showed. Leading supplier Thailand, meanwhile, lost market share as its exports to China remained...
Market Domination Overtime Host Josh Lipton previews several of the biggest stories to come throughout next week, including a wide array of earnings results due out from major companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), and many more; and the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision followed by a press conference with chairman Jerome Powell. To watch ...
Market Domination Overtime Host Josh Lipton previews several of the biggest stories to come throughout next week, including a wide array of earnings results due out from major companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), and many more; and the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision followed by a press conference with chairman Jerome Powell. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime.
Explore the exciting world of Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Dec. 10, 2025. The video was published on Jan. 23, 2026. Continue reading
Explore the exciting world of Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Dec. 10, 2025. The video was published on Jan. 23, 2026. Continue reading
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) on Friday closed up +0.03%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI ) (DIA ) closed down -0.58%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) closed up +0.34%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26 ) rose +0.02%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) on Friday closed up +0.03%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI ) (DIA ) closed down -0.58%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) closed up +0.34%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26 ) rose +0.02%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures...
Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem SA paid interest due Friday on its so-called hybrid bonds, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, one of the largest petrochemical makers in the world, made payments on dollar bonds maturing in 2081 , the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter. The notes were among the biggest losers in a selloff that engulfed Brask...
Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem SA paid interest due Friday on its so-called hybrid bonds, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, one of the largest petrochemical makers in the world, made payments on dollar bonds maturing in 2081 , the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter. The notes were among the biggest losers in a selloff that engulfed Braskem’s bonds last year, as their indenture allows the company to defer interest payments without triggering a default. The debt — issued in New York over five years ago when Braskem still held an investment-grade rating — rank below senior debt in the creditor hierarchy. Braskem didn’t immediately reply to emailed requests for comment. Earlier this month, Braskem paid interest due on some of its other dollar bonds, including notes due in 2028, which reassured investors as the company moves to address its mounting debt woes. It still has upcoming payments in January on its dollar notes due in 2030 and in 2050, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company has struggled with depressed prices in the industry, and an environmental disaster at one of its salt mines. Bonds cratered last year after the company announced it hired advisers for a capital review. Braskem is now aiming to present an out-of-court restructuring plan to creditors by March, though that timeline would require that asset manager IG4 Capital — which last month advanced on a deal to buy Novonor’s stake in the petrochemicals giant — is in place to negotiate terms, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week. The deal still requires approval from Brazilian, Mexican, European and US regulators.
CNBC's Jim Cramer alerted investors on Friday that next week will be a consequential one for Wall Street, pointing to a heavy load of quarterly earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting. "Make no mistake, next week matters," Cramer said. He later added, "The bottom line? Mag Sevens. Momentum pays. Red-hot industrials, and a Fed meeting. All in front of you. Keep your head up, [there's] much more to c...
CNBC's Jim Cramer alerted investors on Friday that next week will be a consequential one for Wall Street, pointing to a heavy load of quarterly earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting. "Make no mistake, next week matters," Cramer said. He later added, "The bottom line? Mag Sevens. Momentum pays. Red-hot industrials, and a Fed meeting. All in front of you. Keep your head up, [there's] much more to come." Monday brings earnings from steel manufacturer Nucor , which Cramer described as the "best steel company in the world." Despite Nucor sharing a lackluster mid-quarter update in December, the stock has nevertheless rallied since then, in part because investors hope rate cuts will help spur economic growth. If Nucor gets hit following the release Monday, Cramer said investors should consider buying into the weakness. On Tuesday, Boeing and General Motors will release results. Boeing shares have rallied substantially over the past two months, so Cramer believes investors shouldn't expect another huge leg up after the report. Don't sell the stock just yet though, he said, because it's only year one of the aircraft maker's turnaround story. Meanwhile, Cramer said General Motors CEO Mary Barra hasn't received enough credit for all she's done to revamp the company. If the stock gets dinged on earnings day, Cramer said it could be a solid time to buy. Wednesday is an especially busy earnings day. Corning , Danaher, Starbucks , GE Vernova , Meta Platforms , and Microsoft – all holdings in Cramer's Charitable Trust , the portfolio used by CNBC Investing Club – will release results. Cramer isn't expecting a huge move higher from GE Vernova when the gas turbine maker's results come out Wednesday morning. "I love it long-term, but the expectations are sky-high for the moment," Cramer said. "I think you need a better entry point." After nearly doubling in 2025, shares of GE Vernova are up less than 1% so far in 2026. Like GE Vernova, Cramer said Corning is another great stock to ow...
New Gig Economy Job: Train AI That Replaces You A Bay Area startup called Mercor has hired tens of thousands of white-collar contractors for temporary work, training artificial intelligence to perform the very jobs many of them once held, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. In effect, these white-collar workers are being paid to accelerate their own obsolescence by feeding and perfectin...
New Gig Economy Job: Train AI That Replaces You A Bay Area startup called Mercor has hired tens of thousands of white-collar contractors for temporary work, training artificial intelligence to perform the very jobs many of them once held, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. In effect, these white-collar workers are being paid to accelerate their own obsolescence by feeding and perfecting models for chatbot makers, such as OpenAI and Anthropic. What is marketed as short-term income increasingly looks like participation in a system that is not on "team humanity," but instead is perfecting AI's ability to hollow out even more white-collar work. " Welcome to the next gig economy. Instead of driving for Uber or delivering Postmates, a new wave of workers is signing up to school AI. These white-collar contractors review and critique the output of the large language models that power chatbots and other AI tools ," the WSJ story read. Mercor recruits experts across fields such as medicine, law, finance, engineering, writing, and the arts, with pay ranging from $45 per hour to $250 per hour. These contractors spend weeks or months reviewing and critiquing AI model outputs. WSJ said that 30,000 contractors were hired in 2025 to work on AI models for some of the largest tech companies, furthering chatbot development. "Many of the people we work with already see AI as inevitable in their field, but that doesn't mean humans will run out of meaningful work," a Mercor spokeswoman told the outlet. "Many of our experts see it as their responsibility to infuse their knowledge and expertise into the models to ensure accurate and thoughtful outcomes." WSJ spoke with one of the contractors, Katie Williams, 30, who has been working for Mercor for 6 months ... Williams is now about six months into various projects that have involved watching video clips and writing out captions of everything that's happening in them, and rating the quality of videos generated by prompts. She ha...