Fed raises key rate by quarter-point despite bank turmoil – Business News
Photo: The Canadian Press
File – Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. With inflation still high and anxieties gripping the banking industry, the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell, will face a complicated task at their latest policy meeting Wednesday and in the months to follow: How to tame inflation by continuing to raise interest rates while also helping to restore faith in the financial system – all without triggering a severe recession. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Files)
The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight…
Scandal-plagued Japan tech giant Toshiba accepts buyout offer – Business News
Photo: The Canadian Press
Scandal-embattled Japanese electronics and technology manufacturer Toshiba has accepted a 2 trillion yen ($15 billion) tender offer from Japan Industrial Partners, a buyout fund made up of major banks and companies.
If the proposal succeeds, it will be a major step in Toshiba’s years long turnaround effort, allowing it to go private and delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But overseas activist investors own a significant part of Toshiba’s shares, and it’s unclear if they will be happy with the latest bid.
Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp. announced its board accepted the bid at 4,620 yen ($36) a…
Microsoft will add AI tech to office suite programs like Word, Excel
Microsoft Corp. on Thursday trumpeted its latest plans to put artificial intelligence into the hands of more users, answering a space of unveilings this week by its rival Google with upgrades to its own widely used office software.
The technology company previewed a new AI “copilot” for Microsoft 365, its product suite that includes Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and Outlook emails.
First open to select business customers for testing, AI will offer a draft in these applications, speeding up content creation and freeing up workers’ time, Microsoft said.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company, which is outpacing peers through investments…
British brewers sell weaker beer but don’t cut prices
LONDON –
Brewers in the United Kingdom are cutting the alcohol content — but not the price — of several of their most popular beers in what’s been described as another example of “shrinkflation.”
Greene King, a major UK brewer and pub chain, has cut the ABV, or alcohol content, of its popular Old Speckled Hen pale ale to 4.8% from 5%, a spokesperson for Greene King told CNN.
In March, the country’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, slashed the ABV of its bottled Spitfire and Bishop’s Finger ales to 4.2% and 5.2% respectively, from 4.5% and 5.4%, a spokesperson said.…
The Bank of Canada raises the key interest rate
OTTAWA –
The Bank of Canada raised its overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent on Wednesday, its first increase since pausing hikes in January. The central bank’s key interest rate has not been this high since April 2001.
Several factors led to the bank’s decision to raise the key interest rate, including economic growth in Canada. Gross Domestic Product exceeded expectations in the first quarter of this year, growing by 3.1 per cent.
The central bank says demand in the economy has rebounded, with surprisingly strong consumer spending. Housing market activity has picked up again…
The Family Business Succession Puzzle
Two weeks ago today we bade farewell to everyone’s favorite oedipal billionaires as the final episode of “Succession” wrapped up. The show’s immense cultural impact is due to many factors: top-class writing, heart-rending performances, and the sheer power Brian Cox could load into the letter ‘F’ all they played their part.
At its heart, the series highlights the often messy interlacing of family dynamics and 21st-century capitalism — and while we believe few viewers could truly relate to the Roys, that dynamic is deeply entrenched in real-world economics. Around 60% of the US workforce is employed by family-run businesses, and…
Smith faces a slew of financial challenges in Alberta after election victory
After faltering about a decade ago in her ambitions to lead the Wildrose Party to power in Alberta, Danielle Smith found redemption on Monday night as leader of the United Conservative Party with a majority victory in the provincial election.
Smith became premier in October after winning the UCP leadership vote in the wake of Jason Kenney’s resignation, and now has a much broader mandate after a victory over the Alberta New Democratic Party.
“To paraphrase our dear friend Ralph Klein, ‘Welcome to another miracle on the Prairies,'” Smith said to cheers from the crowd in Calgary.
The election comes…
Visa and MasterCard agreed to lower the average credit card interchange fee below 1%
The government has announced new details of an agreement with Visa and MasterCard that will see them lower the amount that they charge retailers when a customer pays for a purchase with a credit card.
Known as so-called interchange fees, they have long irritated merchants by allowing the credit card company to keep a percentage of each sale, instead of a flat fee for each transaction.
On Thursday, the government announced a deal with the two card companies that will reduce interchange fees for in-store transactions to 0.95 per cent, on average.
That means on a $100 purchase, if a…
