Global economy set for its worst half decade of growth in 30 years, World Bank says

Global economy set for its worst half decade of growth in 30 years, World Bank says

A job fair in China’s southwestern city of Chongqing on April 11, 2023. Str | Afp | Getty Images The global economy is on course to record its worst half decade of growth in 30 years, according to the World Bank. Global growth is forecast to slow for the third year in a row in…

Record thunderstorm losses and deadly earthquakes cost $250 billion in damages in 2023, report says

Record thunderstorm losses and deadly earthquakes cost $250 billion in damages in 2023, report says

Cars stranded in a flash flood caused by a monsoonal thunderstorm on Sept. 1, 2023, in Thermal, California. David Mcnew | Getty Images News | Getty Images Destructive thunderstorms in North America and Europe and a series of devastating earthquakes last year cost the world around $250 billion in damages, according to a new report…

Hottest year on record puts Earth in touching distance of critical warming threshold, scientists say

Hottest year on record puts Earth in touching distance of critical warming threshold, scientists say

Greece has been struggling with forest fires that could not be controlled for 10 days on July 27, 2023 in Rhodes, Greece. Dia Images | Getty Images News | Getty Images Scientists on Tuesday confirmed 2023 as the hottest year on record and warned that the planet is now within touching distance of smashing through…

Norway poised to open vast ocean area to controversial deep-sea mining

Norway poised to open vast ocean area to controversial deep-sea mining

Activists take part at a “Look Down action” rally to stop deep sea mining outside the European Parliament in Brussels on March 6, 2023. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images) Kenzo Tribouillard | Afp | Getty Images Norway is poised to become one of the first countries in…

A new train pass is launching in Japan this winter — but travelers will have to act fast

A new train pass is launching in Japan this winter — but travelers will have to act fast

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…

Adani Group founder Gautam Adani is once again Asia’s richest person 

Adani Group founder Gautam Adani is once again Asia’s richest person 

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…

‘Bad case of déjà vu’: Oil industry veteran to lead next round of UN climate talks in Azerbaijan

‘Bad case of déjà vu’: Oil industry veteran to lead next round of UN climate talks in Azerbaijan

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…

Looking to ride the Asia-Pacific rally? Here are analysts’ top markets to invest in for 2024

Looking to ride the Asia-Pacific rally? Here are analysts’ top markets to invest in for 2024

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…

Cabbing in Italy can be a gnarly affair. Here’s how to navigate it

Cabbing in Italy can be a gnarly affair. Here’s how to navigate it

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…

Bank boss says it’s not ‘that difficult’ to buy a home — and sparks a backlash

Bank boss says it’s not ‘that difficult’ to buy a home — and sparks a backlash

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…