Author: Emily Harper

South Korea’s central bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK), surprised markets on Thursday by cutting its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.00%. This marks the second consecutive rate cut, the first time the bank has enacted back-to-back reductions since 2009. The move aims to support the economy amid signs of slowing growth. Economists polled by Reuters had widely expected the BOK to hold rates steady at 3.25%. Weaker-than-Expected GDP Growth The rate cut follows disappointing GDP data for the third quarter. South Korea’s economy grew by just 1.5% year-on-year, falling short of the 2% growth economists had…

OpenAI, the Microsoft-supported pioneer in artificial intelligence, has announced plans to transition its for-profit operations into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). This reorganization aims to address the company’s growing financial needs while ensuring that the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits humanity. Balancing Profit and Public Benefit Under the proposed PBC structure, OpenAI will prioritize public benefit alongside shareholder and stakeholder interests. This shift will enable the company to secure significant conventional equity financing, crucial for advancing its AGI research and development. The non-profit branch of OpenAI will remain operational, leveraging its stake in the PBC to fund philanthropic…

A DHL-operated cargo plane crashed early Monday near Vilnius Airport in Lithuania, claiming the life of a Spanish crew member and injuring three others. The Boeing 737, operated by Madrid-based contractor Swiftair, was on its final approach from Leipzig, Germany, when the accident occurred. Fiery Crash Near Residential Area Surveillance footage captured the aircraft descending before disappearing behind a building. Moments later, a massive fireball erupted, illuminating the sky. The crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. local time, approximately half a mile from the airport runway. Emergency responders reported that the plane broke apart on impact and skidded several hundred yards,…

Starbucks employees staged a major walkout this holiday season, culminating on Christmas Eve with expanded labor action across the country. While the Starbucks Workers United union claimed the strike affected more than 300 stores and involved around 5,000 baristas, Starbucks reported that about 170 locations remained closed, leaving 98% of its 10,000 stores operational during the busy holiday period. Growing Strikes Amid Labor Disputes The walkouts, which began on Friday, escalated over the weekend and reached their peak on Tuesday, as workers in over 60 stores across 13 cities participated. The union cited frustrations over stalled contract negotiations, particularly around…

American Airlines resumed service Tuesday morning following a brief system outage that grounded flights across the United States during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. The airline attributed the delays to a “vendor technology issue,” and boarding resumed around 8 a.m. ET. Despite significant delays, the airline managed to avoid widespread cancellations. The Cause of the Outage The Allied Pilots Association revealed that American Airlines’ Flight Operations System (FOS), crucial for managing flight departures and passenger boarding, went down briefly. While the airline did not confirm the specific system impacted, it acknowledged that the outage temporarily halted…