News

US AI boom under threat from tariffs, global economic turmoil

Corporate America's artificial intelligence investment frenzy has shrugged off fears of slow returns and doubts fueled by AI models built cheaply by China's DeepSeek. Upcoming earnings reports from tech giants including Alphabet and Microsoft, as well as utilities that power massive data centers such as Vistra and Constellation Energy, will show whether tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China are forcing businesses to rethink their ambitious infrastructure plans. Analysts said this could hit investments in AI tools and pointed to early signs of tech giants pulling back on data center leases.

World Economic Forum board backs launch of independent probe into founder Klaus Schwab

The World Economic Forum, which runs an annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, says its board has given its unanimous support for an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by founder Klaus Schwab. The statement from the Geneva-based think tank and event organizer late Tuesday came after a report published by The Wall Street Journal cited a whistleblower letter alleging financial and ethical misconduct by Schwab, 87, and his wife, Hilde.

Chinese e-commerce platforms to end refund-without-returns amid weak economy, sources say

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Chinese authorities have asked e-commerce platform operators to stop insisting on merchants refunding customers without requiring the return of goods, to alleviate financial pressure on merchants, two people familiar with the matter said. The government met operators including PDD Holdings and concluded the practice must end by July, from which point only merchants will be able to initiate a refund, the people said, without specifying dates. The aim is to prevent merchants' situation becoming tenuous during times of economic slowdown, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the information is not public.

BP share buyback outlook at risk from oil price slump, analysts say

BP may be forced to cut or even scrap its share buyback programmes over the next year unless oil prices recover, analysts say, adding that would increase pressure on its already underperforming shares. Oil majors and other resource companies have made increased use of share buybacks and dividends to reward shareholders in recent years. Three analysts said the risk for BP was that weaker oil prices would mean it could not sustain its buyback programme, aggravating the problem of BP's underperformance versus peers.