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South Korea Bourse May Open Under Pressure
(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the two-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 30 points or 1.3 percent. The KOSPI now rests just beneath the 2,170-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Friday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on growing fears of another coronavirus wave. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly in the red and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion. The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the oil companies, weakness from the financials and industrials and a mixed picture from the technology stocks. For the day, the index added 9.02 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 2,167.90 after trading between 2,166.74 and 2,181.48. Volume was 609 million shares worth 12.8 trillion won. There were 421 decliners and 417 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial shed 0.67 percent, while KB Financial dropped 1.00 percent, Hana Financial retreated 1.12 percent, Samsung Electronics fell 0.38 percent, LG Electronics spiked 1.96 percent, SK Hynix dropped 0.84 percent, LG Chem surged 5.07 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 1.98 percent, S-Oil added 0.32 percent, SK Innovation gained
France to restore Notre-Dame Cathedral as it was before inferno
PARIS (REUTERS) - Paris' centuries-old Notre-Dame Cathedral will be rebuilt as it was before being engulfed in a fire last year, the public body in charge of its restoration said on Thursday (July 9).
The April 15, 2019 blaze gutted the Gothic landmark and major tourist attraction, destroying the spire and roof in a disaster that stunned the nation.
A national heritage and architectural commission approved plans to restore the cathedral to its last "complete, coherent and known" state, including the spire, the restoration body said in a statement.
President Emmanuel Macron promised after the fire to rebuild Notre-Dame within five years, and later suggested that a contemporary design could be used for the spire.
Church officials hope Notre-Dame will be open for mass by 2024, when Paris is due to host the Olympic Games.
Twitter billionaire Jack Dorsey just announced he will be funding a universal basic income...
On Thursday, Jack Dorsey, the billionaire CEO of Twitter, announced he is working with 14 American mayors to fund universal basic income (UBI) trials in their cities. The pilot programs will be run city by city and have not yet launched. Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang helped bring the idea of universal basic income into the mainstream and is funding his own UBI pilot program. Proponents say guaranteed incomes could help close America's growing wealth gap, while others say they could compound America's financial crisis by encouraging people to stop working. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Billionaire Jack Dorsey, the cofounder of Twitter, is spending millions to experiment with universal basic income. Dorsey's experiment is part of a larger initiative called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. On Thursday, the group announced the program could impact as many as 7 million Americans across 14 different cities, including Los Angeles; Atlanta; Newark, New Jersey; and Jackson, Mississippi. The involved mayors say they plan to launch guaranteed income pilot programs in their cities at an unspecified future date and lobby federal lawyers to consider a national one, too. The coalition behind the experiment says giving people a guaranteed income could
Sony invests $250 million in 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games
Character actors from the Epic Games Fortnite video game dance during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, on June 12, 2019.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Sony has invested $250 million in Epic Games, the company behind the popular battle-royale video game "Fortnite."
The PlayStation console maker will take a minority stake in Epic, the two companies said Thursday, in a strategic investment deal that expands on an existing relationship between both firms.
Other than being known for creating hit titles like "Fortnite" and the "Gears of War" franchise, Epic is seen as a major player in the video games industry thanks to its Unreal game-engine software that powers many of the world's top games. The company also runs an online video games store that competes with Steam.
"Epic's powerful technology in areas such as graphics places them at the forefront of game engine development with Unreal Engine and other innovations," Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in a statement Thursday. "There's no better example of this than the revolutionary entertainment experience, Fortnite."
"Through our investment, we will explore opportunities for further collaboration with Epic to delight and bring value to consumers and the industry at large, not only in games, but also across the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape."
"I see this as more strategically broad," than just gaming, Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at Ampere Analysis, told CNBC. "Epic is increasingly active in production across different entertainment markets and is enabling content convergence through Fortnite. Much of this aligns to different businesses within Sony."
The investment is subject to regulatory approvals, Sony and Epic said.
It's a significant deal for Sony into one of the world's top gaming brands. Privately-held Epic is also backed by another household name in the industry, Chinese firm Tencent.
The news arrives as Sony gears up to launch its PlayStation 5 console later this year. The Japanese firm has been intensifying its battle with Microsoft to convince gamers to buy its next-generation device over the upcoming Xbox Series X.
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro in good health after positive coronavirus test, press office says
BRASILIA (REUTERS) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is in good health after testing positive for the novel coronavirus earlier this week, his press office said on Thursday (July 9).
"President Jair Bolsonaro, diagnosed with Covid-19 on (July) 7, is getting on well, without complications," the statement said.
"He is in good health and continues to be monitored routinely by the medical team of the Presidency of the Republic."
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