European Central Bank to focus on shrinking its balance sheet

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB). Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank meets this week with investors closely monitoring to see when the Frankfurt institution might start to cut interest rates. It will be too early to declare victory in the battle against inflation, but with … Read more

Southwest, pilots union near a preliminary labor deal

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 aircraft lands at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, May 7, 2023. Nicolas Economou | Nurphoto | Getty Images Southwest Airlines and its pilots union are closing in on a new contract that would raise pay for the carrier’s more than 11,000 aviators and end months of contentious … Read more

Spanish economist set to lead EU’s huge lending unit on her priorities

The incoming head of one of the world’s largest development banks says it must become faster and more efficient in order to finance priorities such as the climate transition and Ukraine rebuild. Nadia Calviño, Spain’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, was appointed head of the European Investment Bank Friday — in what has been touted … Read more

Why the U.S. has a serious mining worker shortage

The U.S. is running out of miners. More than half the nation’s mining workforce, about 221,000 workers, is expected to retire by 2029, according to the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, and the number of candidates willing to fill those slots is shrinking. “Our workforce is aging,” said Bold Baatar, chief executive of copper at … Read more

EU agrees to landmark rules governing AI after ChatGPT takes off

A photo taken on November 23, 2023 shows the logo of the ChatGPT application developed by US artificial intelligence research organization OpenAI on a smartphone screen (left) and the letters AI on a laptop screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. Kirill Kudryavtsev | Afp | Getty Images The European Union on Friday agreed to … Read more

Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI faces initial review from UK CMA

Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images The U.K.’s competition watchdog has opened an initial review into Microsoft’s mammoth investment into ChatGPT creator OpenAI, making it the first major regulator to flag potential competition concerns over the tech giant’s relationship with one of the most important artificial intelligence companies today. The Competition and Markets Authority … Read more

Signs are pointing to a banner travel year in 2024

American Airlines planes are seen at gates at LaGuardia Airport ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, in New York City, U.S., November 21, 2023.  Shannon Stapleton | Reuters Airlines expect record traveler numbers and revenues in 2024 but will continue to be constrained by the high cost of capital and limited capacity, the International Air Transport … Read more