A post-pandemic surge in international travelers, coupled with weak exchange rates, may have indirectly ended one of Japan’s most beloved travel deals: the Japan Rail Pass. Prices for the JR Pass, as it’s known, increased roughly 65%-75%, in October 2023. But there are still rail deals to be found — especially for those going beyond…
Gautam Adani is the richest person in Asia again, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s updated figures Friday. The founder and chairman of the Adani Group regained pole position in Asia after dethroning Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, who took the top spot after Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting…
Azerbaijan’s Minister for ecology and natural resources and formerly an executive at state oil company SOCAR Mukhtar Babayev (C) visits at the Norm cement plant in Baku, on February 23, 2023. Azerbaijan named on January 5, 2024, Mukhtar Babayev minister to preside over the November 2024 COP29 meeting, in Baku, on January 6, 2024. Tofik…
Japan’s Nikkei 225 has been the top performer this year, among large economy stock indexes in Asia and many believe that stocks in the region have more room to run in 2024. Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets rose to new highs in 2023, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 emerging as the top-performing…
I knew something was amiss when the taxi meter read 10.50 euros as we pulled away from the Roma Termini train station. While negotiating the evening rush hour traffic and typing into a translation app on his cell phone, the cab driver suggested the starting fare included a surcharge for all rides from Rome’s main…
Howard Davies, chairman of Natwest Group Plc. Bloomberg | Getty Images The chair of one of Britain’s biggest banks faced a backlash Friday after saying it is not “that difficult” to get on the property ladder. NatWest chair Howard Davies told the BBC’s “Today” program that the current economic landscape — which has seen interest…
The Maersk Sentosa container ship sails southbound to exit the Suez Canal in Suez, Egypt, on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Stringer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Danish shipping giant Maersk said Friday it would extend its diversion of vessels from the Red Sea for the “foreseeable future” due to safety concerns amid a spate of…
Shoppers at delicatessen market stall in Milan, Italy, on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Headline inflation in the euro zone jumped to 2.9% in December, up from 2.4% the previous month, though core inflation continued to ease, according to data released Friday by Eurostat. The annual print was a little…
U.K. mortgage rates are falling as markets anticipate the Bank of England will start cutting interest rates toward the middle of the year — but uncertainty is likely to continue to dent buyer confidence. HSBC announced cuts beginning Thursday on its residential mortgage interest rates, with several falling below 5% for the first time since April…
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend the Batman Forever/R. McDonald Event in New York City on June 13, 1995. Patrick McMullan | Getty Images New York federal court documents containing previously hidden names of people associated in some way with the late notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein began being unsealed Wednesday evening. Many of the…
