BUSINESS

The Israeli army has said it is "prepared for any scenario" in the aftermath of a strike in Beirut that killed Hamas's deputy chief, stoking fears the war in the Gaza Strip could boil over into wider regional conflict.

Asian markets fell Wednesday in line with a sell-off across most of the world as traders took their cash off the table after a blockbuster end to 2023, with eyes now on the release this week of Federal Reserve minutes and US jobs data.

US car maker Tesla has lost its crown for most sales of all-electric vehicles to Chinese firm BYD, which has capitalized on Beijing's strong government support for the burgeoning sector.

Oh boy!

Israeli forces battled Hamas militants amid the ruins of the heavily-bombed Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the war raging for almost three months piled new miseries on Palestinians in the besieged territory.

A Japan Airlines plane burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday after apparently colliding with a coast guard aircraft, media reports said.

Chinese internet giant Baidu has said it was cancelling the planned multi-billion-dollar purchase of livestreaming platform YY Live, partly blaming its inability to get government approval.

Corporate earnings and their derivative, cash-free cash flow, have always been on Wall Street's radar. They are a critical input in almost every model, which calculates the intrinsic value of a company as the present value of future cash flows to stockholders.

Asian markets slipped Tuesday as most traders returned from the New Year break looking forward to a 2024 that is expected to see a series of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, but to also be full of economic and political uncertainty.

Ethiopia on Monday struck a "historic" agreement to secure a stake in the main port in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as the landlocked country eyes more access to the sea, officials said.

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was convicted on Monday of violating Bangladesh's labour laws in a case decried by his supporters as politically motivated.

Jailed Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus is celebrated around the world for helping millions of people out of poverty, but at home in Bangladesh he has a powerful enemy.

Israelis and Palestinians end a dark year on Sunday, with no end in sight to the deadliest military offensive on Gaza, triggered by Hamas' bloodiest attack on Israel.

Ukraine has exported about 13 million tonnes of merchandise on some 400 ships since setting up a protected maritime corridor in August to fend off Russian threats, a government minister said Saturday.

Thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in Belgrade in the biggest of a series of rallies against alleged electoral fraud.

On Forbes' real-time billionaires' list, Melinda Gates is 185th as of Dec. 27. Melinda had enough firepower in her to navigate through the fresh philanthropic and financial landscape after her separation from her billionaire husband.

Eurostar trains were cancelled on Saturday due to flooded tunnels in southern England, causing misery for New Year travellers in the second major disruption in 10 days.

A few days before Christmas, Hong Kong activist Tony Chung boarded a flight to Okinawa, Japan, carrying nothing but a backpack -- his casual appearance a ruse to hide plans to seek political asylum in the UK. Chung was among the youngest people in Hong Kong to be convicted under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing, and had finished serving time six months before.

Three years after steep Chinese tariffs halted imports of Australian barley as tensions between the two countries ratcheted higher, the grain is once again flowing freely.

After nearly three months of deadly strikes, incessant displacements and sputtering humanitarian aid, "exhausted" Gazans say they are desperate for an end to the fighting as Israel's war against Hamas looks set to grind on into the new year.

From Italy's ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi to rock queen Tina Turner and former European Commission President Jacques Delors, here are some of 2023's most notable deaths.

Nicaragua has become a hot spot for migrants from around the world seeking to avoid a brutal trek through the Darien Gap jungle -- including the 303 Indians whose plane was grounded last week in France on their way to the Central American nation.

In the middle of the Pacific ocean, an abandoned US airfield once key to dropping the nuclear bomb on Japan -- and nearly lost to history amid encroaching forest -- is being revived.

King Charles III on Friday announced awards for showbusiness royalty Shirley Bassey and Ridley Scott while a bereaved father who took on social media giants over harmful online content is also recognised in Britain's traditional New Year's Honours.

2023 witnessed major business events, including the Fed's inflation battle and controversies like Bud Light's risky ad campaign.

Google has agreed to settle a consumer privacy lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages over allegations it tracked the data of users who thought they were browsing privately.

A major milestone for Banxso is the recent acquisition of an EU investment business license from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

Venezuela's state oil company said Thursday that an oil spill at a refinery on the country's western coastline was no longer "active" and that more than 80 percent of the affected area had been cleaned up.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell may find himself in a situation similar to the late 1980s in the spring of 2024, triggering the first interest rate cut if the labor market weakens and unemployment rises.