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Nintendo annual net profit beats forecast on strong game sales
Nintendo annual net profit beats forecast on strong game sales
Business and Economy
by  AFP

Hit games Splatoon 3 and the new Pokemon titles helped Nintendo beat its annual net profit forecast on Tuesday, but the company predicted tougher times ahead as its Switch console ages. But the company forecast a drop in net profit for the current financial year to 340 billion yen as it seeks to extend the profitability of the Switch, now in its seventh year.

Saudi Aramco banks $31.9bn in first quarter, down 19%
Saudi Aramco banks $31.9bn in first quarter, down 19%
Business and Economy
by  AFP

Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced first-quarter net profit of $31.9 billion on Tuesday, down 19.25 percent from a year earlier after a drop in crude prices. It is more than three-quarters of the $40.5 billion in combined first-quarter profits reported by the five oil majors: BP and Shell in Britain, ExxonMobil and Chevron in the United States, and TotalEnergies in France.

EU lawmakers eye ambitious AI regulation
EU lawmakers eye ambitious AI regulation
Business and Economy
by  AFP

The sudden popularity of ChatGPT and other AI tools is injecting urgency into Europe's drive to regulate the sector, which this week gets rolling seriously with an ambitious text to be voted on by EU lawmakers. EU member states only fixed their position in that process at the end of 2022 -- just as ChatGPT was taking off.

Drought spells 'catastrophe' for Spain's olive harvest
Drought spells 'catastrophe' for Spain's olive harvest
Business and Economy
by  AFP

An ongoing drought and soaring temperatures have unleashed fears of an olive "catastrophe" in Spain, the world's largest producer of olive oil, which suffered a very difficult year in 2022. "This happened as the olive trees were in bloom," says Rafael Pico, director of Asoliva, the Spanish association of olive oil producers and exporters, who fears the blooms will dry up.

Asian markets mostly down as US inflation moves into focus
Asian markets mostly down as US inflation moves into focus
Business and Economy
by  AFP

Asian markets struggled Tuesday as investors eyed the release of US inflation data later in the week that could play a key role in shaping the Federal Reserve's interest rate plans. National Australia Bank's Rodrigo Catril said: "The survey revealed a modest deterioration in lending standards to business at a rate that was slightly higher than in January.