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Category: 3. Business

  • Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, December 23, 2025

    Alaska News Nightly: Tuesday, December 23, 2025

    Tuesday on Alaska News Nightly

    State lawmakers weigh in on next month’s legislative session. We discuss what to expect. Plus, Fairbanks residents can expect a White Christmas, followed by some very intense cold. And, Juneau residents hit the slopes this week to celebrate the solstice.

    Reports tonight from:

    Eric Stone, Jamie Diep and Alix Soliman in Juneau,
    Desiree Hagen in Kotzebue,
    Tim Ellis in Delta Junction,
    Sofia Stuart-Rasi in Unalaska.

    This episode of Alaska News Nightly is hosted by Wesley Early with audio engineering from Crystal Hyde and producing by Madilyn Rose.

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  • An Indirect VAT Compliance Gap Estimation Technique

    An Indirect VAT Compliance Gap Estimation Technique

    Summary

    This technical note presents the Reverse Method, a novel indirect approach for estimating the global value-added tax (VAT) compliance gap. The Reverse Method leverages public datasets and a calibrated econometric model to produce scalable, comparable, and indicative VAT gap estimates for over 100 countries and multiple years. It builds on the IMF’s RA-GAP (Revenue Administration Gap Analysis Program) framework, using C-efficiency, tax expenditure data, and national accounts to approximate the compliance gap as a residual. The methodology enables broad cross-country analysis, supports tax gap benchmarking, and provides indicative estimates even where detailed data is scarce. While not a substitute for country-specific RA-GAP assessments, the Reverse Method offers a practical tool for monitoring global VAT compliance trends, informing tax gap analysis, and facilitating international comparisons. Its results highlight differences by income level and region, and the approach is designed for continuous improvement as more data becomes available.

    Subject: Revenue administration, Revenue Administration Gap Analysis Program (RA-GAP), Revenue performance assessment, Tax efficiency, Tax gap, Taxes, Value added tax

    Keywords: Asia and Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, Middle East, Middle East and Central Asia, Revenue Administration Gap Analysis Program (RA-GAP), Tax efficiency, Tax gap, Value-added tax, Western Hemisphere

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  • Access Denied


    Access Denied

    You don’t have permission to access “http://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/agriculture/122325-indonesia-keeps-2026-biodiesel-quota-flat-raising-doubts-over-b50-target” on this server.

    Reference #18.daa0d517.1766544587.a6944549

    https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.daa0d517.1766544587.a6944549

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  • UNL report estimates nearly $3.3 billion in annual economic losses from Tyson Foods closure

    UNL report estimates nearly $3.3 billion in annual economic losses from Tyson Foods closure

    An economic impact analysis estimates that Nebraska will face nearly $3.3 billion in annual economic losses due to the closure of the Tyson Foods beef processing plant in Lexington.

    The analysis, released Monday by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability, was completed using a statistical model that takes into account both direct impacts, like job losses and tax revenue decreases, and second-order impacts like potential job losses in related sectors and decreased spending within a community.

    It found that the closure will result in about $530 million in lost income – both from the 3,200 Tyson workers who will be laid off when the plant closes in January, and from thousands of jobs in related sectors. Some job losses in other sectors have already been seen: Fortrex, a sanitation contractor for Tyson, announced shortly after Tyson’s announcement that it would lay off 139 workers.

    Both state and local tax revenues are likely to take a big hit, according to the report. State annual losses are estimated at $23.2 million for income tax and $10.1 million in sales tax. Local sales tax revenue in Dawson County is expected to fall by $2.7 million annually.

    While the economic impacts will be felt statewide, the report said, they will be concentrated in Dawson County and surrounding areas.

    To complete the analysis, researchers estimated that about 85% of the cattle slaughtered at the Tyson plant came from Nebraska feedlots. They also estimated that the average employee spent about 35% of their income on goods and services subject to state sales tax.

    The closure comes amid significant economic issues in the cattle industry. In 2025, the U.S. recorded its smallest beef cattle herd in more than 70 years, and meatpackers are losing money as they operate well below capacity. Tyson is the first of the “big four” meatpackers – Cargill, National Foods, JBS and Tyson – to close a major facility during the current supply crunch.

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  • Gold Soars Above $4,500 for First Time on Geopolitics, Rates – Bloomberg.com

    1. Gold Soars Above $4,500 for First Time on Geopolitics, Rates  Bloomberg.com
    2. Gold, silver and platinum sparkle at all-time peaks  Reuters
    3. Gold hits record high on US rate cut bets; silver joins rally to hit all-time peak  Dawn
    4. Gold and silver hit records as investors hunt for safety  BBC
    5. Gold tops $4,500, Japan stabilizes, U.S. data in focus— what’s moving markets  Investing.com

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  • Hyundai Motor Group Strengthens Software and IT Leadership with Key Executive Appointments

    Hyundai Motor Group Strengthens Software and IT Leadership with Key Executive Appointments

    Seokmoon Ryoo, Senior Vice President and Head of Software Platform Division at Hyundai AutoEver, has been appointed as CEO of the software focused Hyundai affiliate, effective January 1st, 2026. This move aligns with the Group’s strategy of enhancing its technological and quality driven edge in software development.

    Ryoo joined Hyundai AutoEver in 2024 after serving as CTO at SOCAR, Korea’s mobility innovation platform. During his tenure at Hyundai AutoEver, he led the development of IT systems, software platforms, and vehicle software innovation initiatives.

    Under his leadership, Hyundai AutoEver fostered a culture of innovation and talent cultivation in software development. As CEO, Ryoo’s mandate includes strengthening technological and quality excellence while driving greater synergies in Group-wide software innovation.

    These leadership changes solidify Hyundai Motor Group’s commitment to technology-driven management and its transition into a software-defined mobility group. The Group continues to make strategic investments to ensure long-term technological competitiveness and sustain its innovation momentum.


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  • The University of Tokyo and Fujitsu launch trial for Japan’s first cloud-connected inter-regional workload shift based on power grid conditions

    The University of Tokyo and Fujitsu launch trial for Japan’s first cloud-connected inter-regional workload shift based on power grid conditions

    The University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and Fujitsu Limited today announced the commencement of a trial on inter-regional workload shifting between data centers. This initiative is part of the Watt-Bit Collaboration Project, which aims to optimize electricity supply and demand by integrating and operating power and communication systems in response to the increasing power consumption of data centers driven by AI demand. The trial will run from January 5, 2026, to March 31, 2026.

    This trial is a technical verification toward the realization of the Watt-Bit Collaboration Project for Green Transformation, which the UTokyo announced with TEPCO Power Grid in October 2025. Moving forward, the partners aim to build a carbon-neutral and sustainable infrastructure and contribute to green transformation by actively utilizing renewable energy to meet electricity demand.

    The two organizations will collaborate with national and related bodies to expand connected locations and plan additional verifications, including the utilization of APN (All Photonics Network), the next-generation communication infrastructure. Through open innovation and collaboration across industry, government, and academia, the organizations will develop technologies to realize a sovereign distributed data center concept ensuring data and operational sovereignty primarily in regions surrounding renewable energy sources, thereby contributing to the development of sustainable public infrastructure.

    UTokyo’s Center for Strategic Promotion of Green Transformation (GX) has previously promoted the introduction of renewable energy, the spatial and temporal understanding of electricity consumption, and conducted trials on workload shifting based on electricity price differences between regions. In addition to these efforts, UTokyo will proceed with the integrated visualization of campus-wide electricity consumption and carbon footprint, the utilization of energy data such as from power grids, and the optimization of electricity consumption within the campus across facilities and equipment, including workload shifting, and further utilization of renewable energy.

    Fujitsu aims to advance the social implementation of the Watt-Bit Collaboration and make the world more sustainable by providing the sovereign cloud solution Fujitsu Cloud Service powered by Oracle Alloy and cloud-native technologies including containers, which are essential for distributed data centers.

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  • Astroglial kappa opioid receptor-mediated reduction of glutamate exchanger xCT in the prelimbic cortex underlies chronic stress-induced depressive-like behaviors

    Astroglial kappa opioid receptor-mediated reduction of glutamate exchanger xCT in the prelimbic cortex underlies chronic stress-induced depressive-like behaviors

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  • S&P hits a new high at close as strong growth lifts tech stocks

    S&P hits a new high at close as strong growth lifts tech stocks

    US share markets finished higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record level, as fresh economic data showed the US economy is running hotter than expected.

    A wave of reports, led by stronger-than-forecast growth figures, pushed government bond yields higher and helped lift growth stocks, particularly big technology names.

    The US Commerce Department said the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3 per cent in the September quarter. That was the fastest pace since the September quarter of 2023 and well above the 3.3 per cent forecast from economists surveyed by Reuters. Solid consumer spending did most of the heavy lifting.

    The figures were released late because of the 43-day US government shutdown. Many analysts had expected growth to slow in the December quarter, but the surprise strength has changed how markets see the outlook for interest rates.

    Investors are now less confident the US Federal Reserve will cut rates in January. Short-term bond yields rose in response, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

    “The bond market didn’t like this news,” said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.

    “It seems to me that when we lose this battle, growth does well, and growth’s doing well today,” he said.
    “But if you’re a food company, or you’re a chemical company, or you’re an oil and gas company, or even if you’re like a private credit company, that’s bad news. Unless interest rates go down, it’s bad.”

    Tech leads the market higher

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.73 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 48,442.41. The S&P 500 gained 31.30 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 6,909.79. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 133.02 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 23,561.84.

    Growth stocks clearly led the way. The S&P 500 growth index rose 0.8 per cent, while value stocks barely moved.

    Artificial intelligence-linked shares added to recent gains after last week’s sell-off, which was driven by worries that valuations had run too far ahead of profits and that heavy spending by AI companies could weigh on earnings.

    Nvidia jumped 3.0 per cent, making it the single biggest driver of gains in the S&P 500. Amazon, Alphabet and Broadcom also rose more than 1.0 per cent.

    Not all good news

    Away from the headline growth number, other data painted a mixed picture of the economy.

    US consumer confidence fell in December, as households grew more anxious about jobs and incomes. Factory output was flat in November after falling the month before.

    Even so, markets remain on a strong footing. All three major US share indexes are on track for a third straight year of gains. The S&P 500 and the Dow are also heading for an eighth consecutive monthly rise.

    That recent momentum has fuelled hopes of a so-called “Santa Claus rally” – a seasonal pattern where the S&P 500 often rises in the final five trading days of the year and the first two sessions of January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. This year, that period runs from Wednesday through to 5 January.

    Holiday slowdown begins

    Trading was already quieter than usual and is expected to thin out further as Christmas approaches.

    US share markets will close early at 1.00pm ET on Wednesday and will be shut on Thursday for Christmas. About 14.01 billion shares changed hands during the session, below the recent 20-day average of 16.67 billion.

    Company moves to watch

    Shares in ServiceNow fell 1.5 per cent after the software company agreed to buy cybersecurity startup Armis for US$7.75bn (A$11.58bn) in cash.

    US military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls edged up 0.3 per cent after President Donald Trump announced plans for a new “Trump class” of battleships, which he said would be larger, faster and “100 times more powerful” than existing vessels.

    Miner Freeport-McMoRan climbed 2.5 per cent to a 15-month high of US$52.29 (A$78.13), helped by record copper prices and a higher price target from Wells Fargo.

    Market breadth

    Falling stocks slightly outnumbered those that rose. On the Nasdaq, declines were more widespread.

    The S&P 500 recorded 35 new 52-week highs and five new lows. The Nasdaq Composite logged 70 new highs and 178 new lows.

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  • Shoppers tipped to splash cash in Boxing Day spree

    Shoppers tipped to splash cash in Boxing Day spree

    A $1.6 billion Boxing Day

    Australians are expected to splash $1.6 billion on Boxing Day sales alone, as budget-conscious shoppers gravitate towards a bargain despite growing cost-of-living pressures.

    Sales are tipped to rise by 4.3 per cent, delivering strong end-of-year momentum for retailers according to data from the Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan.

    The spending surge is expected to continue into the coming week, with shoppers projected to spend $3.8 billion through to the new year.

    Solid pre-Christmas spending

    Early Christmas purchasing and a solid build-up through December have created a strong platform for Boxing Day trading, the association’s chief executive Chris Rodwell said.

    “Retailers are finishing the year on solid footing,” he said.

    “The growth we’re seeing highlights both the resilience of the sector and the enduring appeal of Boxing Day as a premier discount event.”

    The products expected to drive the numbers

    Household goods are expected to be the most popular items on Boxing Day, with $476 million in sales forecast, followed by clothing, footwear and accessories at $226 million.

    Hospitality spending is tipped to increase by 6.8 per cent from last year to $141 million.

    Supporting local business

    Bargain shoppers are being urged to support local retailers during the festive spending period, with Mr Rodwell noting every purchase helps fund local jobs, training, wages and community investment.

    “Ultra low-cost offshore platforms like Temu and Shein cannot match that contribution and are not held accountable to the same standards,” he said.

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