Kia ora and welcome to your Thursday summary of international business and political news from overnight.
In developing news, US President Donald Trump is expected to sign a Bill into law forcing the Justice Department to release documents on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after it was passed by both chambers of Congress, the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has resigned from the OpenAI board, days after Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate his and other prominent Democrats’ ties to Epstein.
“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI board of directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the board,” OpenAI’s board said.
Summers served as former US President Bill Clinton’s Treasury Secretary and former President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council director.
Larry Summers.
To Asia, where China has warned there is “no market” for Japanese seafood exports, as a diplomatic spat escalates over Taiwan.
Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would count as “a situation threatening Japan’s survival” and could trigger a military response. China viewed the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as its territory and had vowed to take control of the island, by force, if necessary, CNN reported.
In business news, Adobe has reached a US$1.9 billion ($3.4b) deal to buy search engine marketing platform Semrush to boost its tools for marketers amid the rise of artificial intelligence, CNBC reported.
The design software firm said it would pay US$12 per share for Semrush in an all-cash transaction. The deal is expected to be completed next year.
Semrush’s biggest customers include Amazon and TikTok.
“Brand visibility is being reshaped by generative AI, and brands that don’t embrace this new opportunity risk losing relevance and revenue,” Adobe said.
Elsewhere, the Dutch government has suspended its intervention of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, which is based in the Netherlands, after talks with China, the BBC reported.
Action was taken in September over serious “governance shortcomings” and concerns over the European supply of semiconductors for vehicles and other electronic goods. As a result, China blocked exports of its chips.
Now, the Dutch government said it would halt its original decision after “constructive” talks. China said it was a first step in the right direction towards a “proper resolution”.
The Bank of Canada described the country’s sluggish productivity growth as a “systemic” problem, urging businesses to help address the issue, Bloomberg reported.
Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent said Canada was stuck in a “vicious circle” where low business investment limited output per hour worked and wage growth.
Vincent said closing the productivity gap would have significant benefits for the economy, including the ability for the country to increase its capacity to grow without sparking inflation.
In data news, UK inflation fell to 3.6% in the year to October, but food prices rose again following a drop in September, the BBC reported.
Overall, prices rose at the slowest pace in four months, helped by smaller rises in household energy costs and lower hotel costs.
Economists had expected a slightly sharper fall from September's 3.8% to 3.5%. The latest inflation report comes a week ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget.
Over the Ditch, tech giant Meta has started giving hundreds of thousands of Aussie teens a two-week warning to download or delete their account data from Instagram, Facebook and Threads, as the world-first social media ban looms, the ABC reported.
The law preventing under-16s from holding accounts comes into full effect from December 10. Meta will start removing accounts from December 4, as well as blocking under-16s from opening new ones.
Messenger is the only Meta platform not currently covered by the ban.
