Author: admin
For the first time, scientists in China have faithfully recreated a thought experiment proposed by Albert Einstein nearly a century ago, showing that the quantum world behaves in ways the iconic physicist never fully accepted.Pan Jianwei – known as the country’s “father of quantum” – and his team at the University of Science and Technology of China built a device sensitive enough to register the tiny push of a single photon.Einstein laid out a modified version of the famous double-slit experiment at the historic 1927 Solvay Conference in Brussels, hoping it would disprove Bohr’s view that a particle’s path and…
Houthi rebel groups in Yemen signalled in November they would halt attacks on commercial ships passing through the Red Sea if the Gaza ceasefire held, allowing a possible end to two years of costly detours for cargo shipping between Asia and Europe.Dutch financial services group ING called the potential reopening of Red Sea shipping lanes a “key thing to watch for in container shipping” next year. And it would have particular significance for China: the world’s biggest merchandise exporter.However, it may not be possible for companies to simply snap back to the status quo in 2023, before the attacks started.…
My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Dec. 4 1. Stocks were little changed ahead of this morning’s open following bad news/good news for the job market. Layoff announcements for the year topped 1.1 million, the most since 2020, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas . Initial jobless claims, however, retreated and came in lower than expected, according to the Labor Department. 2. Salesforce rose modestly this morning after the enterprise software maker posted a huge earnings beat and raised guidance. Still, the company missed slightly on sales. Is Agentforce’s gain big enough to offset the slowdown in…
The government on Thursday signaled a shift toward stricter regulations on used vehicle imports, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directing the formulation of a new framework aimed at safeguarding safety standards and supporting domestic manufacturing. The development came during a meeting chaired by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan, who held detailed discussions with representatives of the auto sector. Secretary Industries Saif Anjum and Engineering Development Board (EDB) CEO Hammad Mansoor also attended. Surge in used car imports sparks concern in auto industry Industry representatives briefed the government on challenges facing the sector,…
China’s designs on supremacy in artificial intelligence could be hindered by a funding gap in the sector, according to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who gave a grim assessment of the country’s AI prospects as China and the US lock horns for dominance.However, analysts said that funding would not be a concern for China’s AI development given the deep pockets of the country’s private and state investors – particularly as Beijing, Big Tech firms and investors were united in their determination to accelerate AI development from chips to applications.Schmidt said that compared with the US, which had the world’s “most…
The US dollar held near a five-week low after weak economic data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, offering some support to the yen while pushing the euro to its strongest level in almost seven weeks. Investors are also watching the growing possibility that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett could succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair when Powell’s term ends in May. Hassett is widely expected to favor further rate cuts. President Donald Trump said this week he will announce his nominee early next year, extending a selection process that has…
Central bank governor Pan Gongsheng has stressed the importance of China maintaining a sound monetary system that remains resilient to external shocks and systemic risks, signalling a focus on stability ahead of a key policy meeting.Pan said monetary policy must balance internal and external pressures, “primarily taking into account domestic economic and financial conditions”, while also factoring in the “spillover effects” from other economies, in an editorial for the Communist Party’s People’s Daily on Thursday.His remarks were part of a series of commentaries by senior Chinese officials in the state mouthpiece in recent weeks, aimed at implementing Beijing’s policy directions…
Malaysia said on Thursday that it would consider a proposal by Singapore to jointly develop water infrastructure in southern Johor, signalling the intention of both sides to move beyond decades of rancour over the vital resource.The two countries have for years disagreed over various issues related to water supply, ranging from prices to the interpretation of the 1962 water agreement signed by them. Malaysia has argued that Johor’s water is sold too cheaply to Singapore.With Johor experiencing a water crisis, which experts attribute to climate change, rampant pollution, river dredging and resource-guzzling data centres in the state, the two countries…
India’s hard-won reputation as the world’s back office, built on trusted call-centre and IT services, is coming under pressure as increasingly sophisticated cyber scam networks emerge within the same digital ecosystem that underpins its outsourcing success.A police raid late last month on a Hyderabad call centre that allegedly trained tele-callers to mimic Australian accents has sharpened those concerns, with analysts warning that organised fraud rings could erode confidence in India’s service industry.According to local media reports, the callers had contacted Australian citizens by falsely warning that their computer systems had been hacked or compromised, then coaxed them into handing over…
More than half of China’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) plan to increase the share of offshore investments in their portfolios over the next year as they seek diversification amid macroeconomic uncertainty, according to a joint report by insurer YF Life and wealth research firm Hurun.The survey covered 500 affluent mainland Chinese, with an average age of 44 and average household net assets of 37 million yuan (US$5.23 million). Just over half of the respondents were business owners.“China’s high-net-worth population is shifting from a phase of rapid scale expansion to one of quality-driven growth,” said Hu Run – better known as Rupert…