September 2, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, while layoffs dropped to their lowest level in more than 24 years in August, suggesting the labor market was charging ahead even as new COVID-19 infections surge. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 14,000 to […]
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Xi says China to set up stock exchange in Beijing
September 2, 2021 BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s President Xi Jinping on Thursday said the country would set up a stock exchange in its capital, Beijing, to serve small and medium-sized companies. Mainland China’s two major stock exchanges are in the financial hub of Shanghai and in the southern city of Shenzhen, on the mainland’s border with […]
GM to cut North American production, citing chip shortage
September 2, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors Co will reduce production at many North American assembly plants this month because of the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage, hitting its profitable truck and sport utility vehicles, it said on Thursday. The largest U.S. automaker will halt production next week at its Fort Wayne plant in Indiana […]
Analysis-A City divided? London tackles Brexit with twin-track finance
September 2, 2021 By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – High in the skyscrapers that have taken root in its warren of medieval streets, City of London grandees are plotting a post-Brexit regulatory revamp to rival New York. The City, as London’s traditional financial heartland is known, has retained little direct access to the European Union […]
Tanzania says gunman who killed four people last month was a terrorist
September 2, 2021 DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) -Tanzanian police said on Thursday the slain gunman who killed three police officers and a private security guard on a rampage through a diplomatic quarter of Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam last month was a terrorist. In the Aug. 25 attack, Hamza Mohammed shot two police officers […]
South African train brings COVID-19 vaccines closer to people
September 2, 2021 By Sisipho Skweyiya JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – At Springs train station in South Africa’s biggest city Johannesburg, Simphiwe Dyantyi and her partner wait their turn to board. But they are not going anywhere, instead they are getting COVID-19 jabs inside a stationary train. The initiative by South African state logistics firm Transnet is […]
Point raises $46.5 million for its premium debit card
Challenger bank Point has raised a $46.5 million Series B funding round. The company offers an account associated with a debit card. And the startup positions itself as a premium debit card company and tries to offer credit card rewards with debit cards. Existing investor Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures is investing more money in the […]
Station F launches FemTech Program on its startup campus
Paris-based startup megacampus Station F is announcing a new program for early-stage startups looking for opportunities to join the Station F community — the FemTech Program. With this new program, the Station F team wants to put a spotlight on FemTech startups and make it easier to start a FemTech startup. Station F is a […]
Spain’s Fallas fiesta resumes after COVID hiatus, rain damage
September 2, 2021 By Eva Manez VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) – Heavy rain has dampened the giant paper mache figures lined up for the Fallas festival in the Spanish city of Valencia, but not the spirits of participants eager to celebrate the fiery fiesta after a pandemic-induced hiatus. The five-day festival, traditionally held in March, was […]
Polish president imposes state of emergency on Belarus border
September 2, 2021 WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s president has imposed a state of emergency in parts of two regions bordering Belarus, his spokesman said on Thursday, an unprecedented move in the country’s post-communist history that follows a sharp increase in migration. The government formally asked President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday to impose the state of […]
Singapore PM wins more defamation suits against bloggers
September 2, 2021 SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s high court ordered two bloggers to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a combined S$210,000 ($155,994) in damages on Wednesday, over an article about the home of his late father and the city-state’s modern-day founder, Lee Kuan Yew. The premier sued writer Rubaashini Shunmuganathan and editor Xu Yuan […]
HomeLight closes on $100M Series D at a $1.6B valuation as revenue surges
HomeLight, which operates a real estate technology platform, announced today that it has secured $100 million in a Series D round of funding and $263 million in debt financing. Return backer Zeev Ventures led the equity round, which also included participation from Group 11, Stereo Capital, Menlo Ventures and Lydia Jett of the SoftBank Vision […]
YouTravel.Me packs up $1M to match travelers with curated small group adventures
YouTravel.Me is the latest startup to grab some venture capital dollars as the travel industry gets back on its feet amid the global pandemic. Over the past month, we’ve seen companies like Thatch raise $3 million for its platform aimed at travel creators, travel tech company Hopper bring in $175 million, Wheel the World grab […]
AON3D closes $11.5M Series A, partners with Astrobotic to send 3D printed parts to the moon
3D printing has garnered a lot of hype, much of it for good reason: the technology has unlocked new kinds of object shapes and geometries, and it uses materials that tend to be much lighter weight than their traditionally manufactured counterparts. But there remain high barriers to entry for many companies that either don’t have […]
Pancake aims to make customers flip for its virtual home design platform
Pancake brought in a $350,000 seed round to develop its home design platform that leverages furniture you already have in your home with a designer’s fresh eye on your space. Maria Jose Castro and Roberto Meza, both from Costa Rica, started the company in 2020, based on their own experience of transitioning to work-from-home and […]
JBL announces trio of true wireless earbuds that look perfect for your next workout
JBL has just announced three new true wireless earbuds models, with one pair – the JBL Reflect Flow Pro – that could be a perfect companion in your next workout. Meanwhile, the JBL Tune 230NC and JBL Tune 130NC firmly occupy the mid-range market with a slew of great features at a more affordable price. […]
Microsoft is ending support for another iconic Windows offering
Microsoft is finally retiring its Windows Thin PC product on October 12, 2021, after almost a decade in service. Launched in 2011, Microsoft introduced Windows Thin PC to help customers repurpose their existing, but under-powered PCs as thin clients, giving users a cost-effective alternative to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). While Windows Thin PC was well-received […]
JBL’s next Bluetooth speaker will arrive just in time for summer… in Australia
JBL has taken the wraps off its latest flagship portable speaker, the JBL Flip 6, by providing some of its key features as well as its price and release date. The latest features on JBL’s premium Bluetooth speaker include a 12-hour battery life, IP67 water and dustproof rating, and JBL’s PartyBoost feature that allows you […]
JBL Quantum 350 looks like a great affordable wireless gaming headset
JBL has a new wireless gaming headset headed to the UK, which looks set to deliver some great features at a more budget-friendly price than the best PC gaming headsets out there. We haven’t been able to try out the JBL Quantum 350 wireless gaming headset for ourselves but the specs seem promising, so this […]
These stylish wireless speakers might be the slimmest we’ve ever seen
Harman Kardon has launched what might be the slimmest floor-standing stereo speakers we've ever seen – and in spite of their slight frames, the wireless speakers come with some beefy audio features that could make them the perfect additions to your home cinema setup. The Harman Kardon Radiance 2400 wireless home audio system comprises the […]