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Capgemini and SAP partner with Mistral to deploy AI for sensitive sectors

Capgemini and SAP partner with Mistral to deploy AI for sensitive sectors

The Star26-05-2025
The logo of Capgemini is pictured during the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
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Factory output gain shows firms' resilience
Factory output gain shows firms' resilience

The Star

time19 minutes ago

  • The Star

Factory output gain shows firms' resilience

Output rebound: A woman walks past an electronic screen in Tokyo. The gains are forecast to continue after the United States and Japan reached a trade agreement with terms considered more favourable to Japan than had been feared. — Reuters TOKYO: Japan's factory output unexpectedly rose in June, as manufacturers showed resilience even as US tariffs weighed on the nation's exports. Industrial production gained 1.7% from the previous month, the Industry Ministry reported yesterday. Output of transport equipment excluding cars was up 14.8%, and electronic parts and devices drove the gains. Economists had expected a 0.8% loss. Output increased 4% from a year earlier, topping expectations of a 1.3% gain. Output of autos, which faced tariffs totalling 27.5% on shipments to the United States during the period, nudged 0.1% higher from the prior month. Output for steel and non-ferrous metals declined by 0.5% after US President Donald Trump doubled the duty on US imports of steel and aluminium to 50% in early June. 'I think production increased in some areas to respond to rush demand in anticipation of the tariff hike,' said Yuichi Kodama, economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute. 'The trend is difficult to grasp due to such demand, but I think production largely remained flat on a quarterly basis.' Seasonally adjusted production advanced by 0.3% in the quarter through June from the previous period, reducing the risk that the economy may have fallen into a technical recession in the period. Bloomberg economist Taro Kimura said, 'The solid production print may prompt central bankers to reassess their cautious stance on US trade policy risks to Japan's growth. 'In our baseline scenario, the central bank will proceed with a 25 basis points rate hike in October.' The gains are forecast to continue after the United States and Japan reached a trade agreement with terms considered more favourable to Japan than had been feared. Last week's surprise deal will cut tariffs on US imports of Japanese cars to 15% and apply the same rate on other products. Inventories fell 0.4% in June, the third straight month of month-on-month declines, bringing the index down to 99.1, the lowest in just over three years. That indicates that manufacturers have room to add products in the months ahead. Manufacturers estimated monthly production will rise 1.8% in July and gain 0.8% in August, according to yesterday's release. Separately, retail sales exceeded estimates, rising 1% in June from May and increasing 2% from a year ago. Persistent inflation has kept consumer spending from posting sustained gains as households contending with higher costs for essential goods trimmed discretionary outlays. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, under pressure to do more to help households cope with inflation, has pledged cash handouts to spur consumption and undertaken steps to reduce utility costs. Ishiba's position was weakened substantially by his party's historic upper house election defeat earlier this month. He said he would like to remain in office to ensure the implementation of the trade deal. The production data come hours before the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) board concludes its latest policy meeting, where authorities are widely expected to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged. The focus will be governor Kazuo Ueda's assessment of the recent trade deal with the United States. Officials see the possibility of mulling another interest rate hike this year after that agreement, a source said last week. 'It will take more time for the impact of tariffs to be confirmed in hard data, so the BoJ is unlikely to raise interest rates today,' Kodama said. — Bloomberg

Russia's FSB targets foreign embassies in Moscow in cyber espionage campaign, Microsoft says
Russia's FSB targets foreign embassies in Moscow in cyber espionage campaign, Microsoft says

The Star

time6 hours ago

  • The Star

Russia's FSB targets foreign embassies in Moscow in cyber espionage campaign, Microsoft says

The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building in central Moscow, Russia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo (Reuters) -One of the Russian government's premier cyber espionage units is deploying malware against embassies and diplomatic organizations in Moscow by leveraging local internet service providers, Microsoft said on Thursday. The analysis confirms for the first time that Russia's Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB, is conducting cyber espionage at the ISP level, according to findings from Microsoft Threat Intelligence. 'Microsoft is now certain that this activity is happening within Russian borders,' Microsoft's director of Threat Intelligence Strategy, Sherrod DeGrippo, told Reuters. Microsoft's findings come amid increasing pressure from Washington for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war in Ukraine and pledges from NATO countries to increase defense spending surrounding their own concerns about Russia. The analysis tracks an FSB cyber espionage campaign that in February targeted unnamed foreign embassies in Moscow. The FSB activity facilitates the installation of custom backdoors on targeted computers, which can be used to install additional malware as well as steal data. Reuters could not determine which embassies were targeted. The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment. Russian diplomats did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow routinely denies carrying out cyber espionage operations. The hacking unit linked to the activity, which Microsoft tracks as 'Secret Blizzard' and others categorize as 'Turla,' has been hacking governments, journalists and others for nearly 20 years, the U.S. government said in May 2023 after the FBI disrupted one of its long-running operations. (Reporting by AJ Vicens in Detroit; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Lula's approval rises amid tariff dispute with Trump, poll shows
Lula's approval rises amid tariff dispute with Trump, poll shows

The Star

time7 hours ago

  • The Star

Lula's approval rises amid tariff dispute with Trump, poll shows

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Approval for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva exceeded disapproval for the first time in nine months, a poll showed on Thursday, against a backdrop of a growing dispute with Washington. Earlier in July, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would slap 50% tariffs on Brazilian exports to fight what he has called a "witch hunt" against Lula's right-wing rival, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Those tariffs were formalized on Thursday, albeit with some key sector exemptions. The Trump administration has also imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on the judge overseeing Bolsonaro's trial on charges of plotting a coup. Lula's government has pushed back, calling Trump an unwanted "emperor" and the sanctions "unacceptable." The AtlasIntel/Bloomberg poll showed 50.2% approval of Lula's performance, up from 49.7% in the previous poll two weeks ago and marking the first time he has scored greater approval than disapproval since October. The new poll adds to evidence that Trump's tactics may be backfiring in Brazil, rallying public support behind a defiant leftist government. The proportion of respondents who consider Lula's government good or great has also improved, now at 46.6% from 43.4%, although that is still below the 48.2% who consider it bad or awful. If a replay of the 2022 presidential election in Brazil was held this week, 47.8% of those surveyed would vote for Lula and 44.2% for Bolsonaro. Despite being barred from holding public office until 2030, Bolsonaro insists he could run again, while Lula has hinted that he could run for reelection. The poll surveyed 7,334 Brazilian adults online between July 25 and July 28. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus one percentage point. (Reporting by Isabel Teles in Sao Paulo, editing by Manuela Andreoni and Rosalba O'Brien)

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