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Start spreading the news: New York wants tourists back
New York (AFP) - New York City announced a $30 million advertising campaign Wednesday designed to entice tourists back to the Big Apple and revive an economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio described the marketing blitz, dubbed "NYC Reawakens" and set to launch in June, as the city's "largest-ever" drive to promote tourism. "We need to let people know we're open for business," he told reporters. "It's safe, come here. Join this amazing moment. Come to this city that's been so heroic during this crisis," De Blasio added. New York is gradually reopening on the back of a...
AFP
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Millions of Americans are jobless, yet firms struggle to hire
Washington (AFP) - More than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of American remain jobless, but even as the economy reopens some employers are finding hiring an unexpected challenge. From fears of being infected with the coronavirus to trouble finding childcare to the lure of generous unemployment benefits, some jobless Americans are holding off on re-entering the workforce. "It's a paradox for the Covid crisis," said Gregory Daco, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. "We have, and risk having over the coming months, an imbalance between job openings and demand." The US economy has...
AFP
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Dems relaunch Green New Deal, heap pressure on Biden
Washington (AFP) - Congressional Democrats on Tuesday reintroduced their ambitious and expanded Green New Deal to reshape America's climate and economic policy, demanding considerably steeper investments than those proposed by President Joe Biden's administration. The initial version of the resolution introduced by popular congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey in early 2019 was a progressive wish list including boosting investments in renewable energy and putting the United States on a path to net zero emissions by 2050. The plan became a target for conservatives who ham...
AFP
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In Texas, a rancher swaps his oil pumps for wind turbines
San Angelo (United States) (AFP) - Cattle rancher Bobby Helmers cranes to listen as the blades of his six giant wind turbines slice through the air in the same Texas fields that once echoed with the sounds of oil pumps. Like JR and Bobby Ewing, lead characters in the hit 1970s and 80s TV series "Dallas," Helmers hosted oil wells on his land for decades. But with renewable energy increasingly viable even in the petroleum-rich Lone Star State, the 79-year-old is among several ranchers who have plugged their pumps and made the shift to wind power. He still marvels at how little noise comes from t...
AFP
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As local FMCG brands strengthen, foreign brands are challenged in SE Asia
By Celine Chen SINGAPORE, NNA - Local brands of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in Asia are winning as they keep chipping away at the position of formidable, global multinational companies (MNCs). A NielsenIQ report issued this month said both local as well as innovative products are now driving sales for the industry. Asians' preference for local products has continued to grow, taking up a majority market share from 60.1 percent in 2018 to 61.7 percent in 2020, according to the report. On the other hand, the market share of MNCs dropped from 25.2 percent in 2018 to 24.1 percent last year. W...
NNA Business News
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Japanese karaoke operator to dissolve Singapore unit amid pandemic
SINGAPORE, NNA - Japanese karaoke chain operator Koshidaka Holdings Co. has decided to dissolve and liquidate its Singapore unit running "Karaoke Manekineko" shops amid the coronavirus pandemic. Koshidaka Singapore Pte. Ltd., which operated 11 karaoke shops at its peak in the city-state, has suspended all operations due to government COVID-19 restrictions since March 2020 and has no prospect of restarting, the Tokyo-based company said Friday. Koshidaka International Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based intermediate holding company owning the local unit, will continue its karaoke business in other Sout...
NNA Business News
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US homebuilding rebounds sharply in March from storm-caused plunge
Washington (AFP) - American homebuilders got back to work in earnest last month after bad weather slowed construction in February, as new housing starts jumped 19.4 percent, the Commerce Department said Friday. New construction projects started in March rose to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million, 37 percent higher than the pace in March 2020 and beating analysts' expectations as homebuilders worked to keep up with buyer demand amid a boom in the US housing market. Housing permits, a more volatile indicator of projects in the pipeline, also outperformed, rising 2.7 percent above ...
AFP
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Global trade rules can help fight climate change: US trade chief
Washington (AFP) - International commerce creates incentives for countries to erode environmental protections to attract investment, and global trade rules are needed to counter that "race to the bottom," US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Thursday. "The view that environmental issues are not an inherent part of trade ignores the reality that the existing rules of globalization incentivize downward pressure on environmental protection," Tai said in her first public speech. "This puts countries with higher environmental standards at a competitive disadvantage," she said in the addre...
AFP
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Early signs of US rebound arrive as sales soar, aid claims drop
Washington (AFP) - The rebound may finally be here: new US government data shows fewer people applying for jobless aid and more spending their money at restaurants and sporting goods outlets, positive signs for the world's largest economy after it suffered a catastrophic Covid-19 outbreak. The Labor Department on Thursday reported 576,000 new jobless claims filed last week, the least since before Covid-19 struck in March 2020 and caused business disruptions and mass layoffs that the economy still has not recovered from. In separate data, the Commerce Department announced retail sales surged 9....
AFP
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Fed sees more optimism among US business, activity accelerating
Washington (AFP) - American businesses are feeling more optimistic as vaccinations against Covid-19 become common, and economic activity accelerated moderately in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in its survey of business conditions. However some areas are seeing prices rise, both as a consequence of supply chain snarls and increasing demand as consumers resume daily life with Covid-19 less of a threat, according to the central bank's beige book survey. In the period from late February to early April, economic activity increased to "a moderate pace," while "consumer spending...
AFP
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