Latest news with #KiyoshiOta
CTV News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Honda conducts surprise reusable rocket test, aims spaceflight by 2029
Signage displayed at the Honda Motor Co. headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg TOKYO — Honda succeeded in a launch and landing test of its prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, the Japanese company said in a surprise announcement, marking a milestone towards its 2029 goal of achieving a suborbital spaceflight. Honda R&D, the research arm of Japan's second-biggest carmaker, successfully landed its 6.3-meter (20.6-foot) experimental reusable launch vehicle after reaching an altitude of 271 meters (889 feet) at its test facility in northern Japan's space town Taiki, according to the company. While 'no decisions have been made regarding commercialization of these rocket technologies, Honda will continue making progress in the fundamental research with a technology development goal of realizing technological capability to enable a suborbital launch by 2029,' it said in a statement. Honda in 2021 said it was studying space technologies such as reusable rockets, but it has not previously announced the details of the launch test. A suborbital launch may touch the verge of outer space but does not enter orbit. Studying launch vehicles 'has the potential to contribute more to people's daily lives by launching satellites with its own rockets, that could lead to various services that are also compatible with other Honda business,' the company added. Reusable launch vehicles have been the driver of emerging commercial space missions over the past decade, led by SpaceX's Falcon 9, while its U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable rocket plans. Tokyo-based startup Innovative Space Carrier last month said it will test-launch a prototype reusable rocket in the United States in December using an American engine. Honda's rival Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, earlier this year announced an investment by its research arm in Taiki-based rocket maker Interstellar Technologies to support mass production of launch vehicles. Japan's government has established a multibillion-dollar space venture fund to subsidize private rockets, satellites and other missions, targeting to double its space industry's size to 8 trillion yen (US$55.20 billion) by the early 2030s. (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; editing by David Evans)
Extra.ie
3 days ago
- Business
- Extra.ie
What can you buy with quarter of a billion euro
The owner of the winning Euromillions ticket is still keeping the everyone guessing, as the nation holds its breath to see if someone we know, or even better, are related to, is the lucky holder of the winning Euromillions ticket, worth 250 million euro. Speculation is rife as to who bought the ticket, and when are they going to come forward to claim their eye watering prize. But the huge amount of the win has everyone thinking and talking about what would YOU do, and what could you buy with a quarter of a BILLION quid and where would you even start to process the fact that your bank account actually holds that amount of cash. Pic: Frank333/Shutterstock Well, how about your own Private Tropical Island or two, and there are plenty for sale all over the globe from the coast of Australia or the Bahamas for the tropical climates or further North to Scandinavia should constant sunshine not float your boat. A private Island getaway could set you back a few million, mere small change when your account balance is registering at a quarter of a BILLION. Pumpkin Island situated in the Southern Great Barrier Reef's Keppel Group of islands. Pic: CBRE Sports cars, Private Jets, Exclusive Mansions in very salubrious areas of the world are all within your grasp, and you will still have plenty left over to contemplate life as a multi-millionaire while you decide what to do with the rest of the dosh. Of course the big question is not only 'WHEN' will the winner arrive at Lotto Headquarters to claim their prize, but will they or won't they go public with the win. A customised Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz SL600 vehicle decorated with Swarovski crystals. Pic: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images The prudent among us would say to keep quiet, say nothing, and that might be a safe bet considering the issues suddenly 'being loaded' can bring, not to mention the expectations of friends and family, who may or may not feel 'entitled' to a share of your winnings, based on family ties or friendship. Whatever the winner decides to do, the rest of us can pause for just a moment to daydream about how life could change with this amount of money in the bank. And then we will go back to the day job and wish the winner 'All the best' as they settle into life as Irelands latest Multimillionaire. No official announcement has been made yet by the National Lottery, but the lucky numbers were 13, 22, 23, 44, 49, with lucky star numbers of 3 and 5.
Boston Globe
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Google offers buyouts to more workers amid AI-driven tech upheaval and antitrust uncertainty
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up ENTERTAINMENT Advertisement Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement The headquarters of The Walt Disney Co. in Burbank, Calif. Beth Coller/NYT Disney and Universal have filed a copyright lawsuit against popular artificial intelligence image-generator Midjourney on Wednesday, marking the first time major Hollywood companies have enter the legal battle over generative AI. Filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the complaint claims Midjourney pirated the libraries of the two Hollywood studios to generate and distribute 'endless unauthorized copies' of their famed characters, such as Darth Vader from 'Star Wars' and the Minions from 'Despicable Me.' 'Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism. Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing,' the companies state in the complaint. The studios also claimed the San Francisco-based AI company ignored their requests to stop infringing on their copyrighted works and to take technological measures to halt such image generation. Midjourney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement ENTERTAINMENT Nintendo Switch 2 sets sales record in boon for games sector A customer posed with a Nintendo Switch 2 game console at a Bic Camera Inc. electronics store in Tokyo on June 5. Kiyoshi Ota/Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomb Nintendo Co. sold 3.5 million-plus units of the Switch 2 in just four days, a record-breaking start for the company's first new console in eight years. The Japanese company has already sold more of the device than the roughly 2.7 million the original Switch managed during its first month in 2017. The numbers, released by the company Wednesday, bode well for its target to sell 15 million units by March next year. They also reinforce analysts' projections that Nintendo may be able to sell far more if it can pump up supply. Gamers from Tokyo to San Francisco lined up for hours last week to get their hands on one of the most highly anticipated gadgets of the year. The long-awaited Switch 2 succeeds a global hit in the original, which pioneered a hybrid design that allows play both at home on a TV and on the move. The release of the new Switch was regarded as a watershed moment for the industry, steering business decisions by partners and competitors for years to come. At a time of thinning margins and exploding development budgets, a popular new console may galvanize the sector and provide a counterbalance to the increasing dominance of a handful of marquee, live-service games. — BLOOMBERG NEWS Advertisement ENERGY World Bank ends its ban on funding nuclear power projects Two cooling towers of the Civaux nuclear power plant in Civaux, central France. ROMAIN PERROCHEAU/AFP via Getty Images The world's largest and most influential development bank said Wednesday that it would lift its long-standing ban on funding nuclear power projects. The decision by the board of the World Bank could have profound implications for the ability of developing countries to industrialize without burning planet-warming fuels such as coal and oil. The ban has been formally in place since 2013, but the last time the bank funded a nuclear power project was 1959 in Italy. In the decades since, a few of the bank's major funders, particularly Germany, have opposed its involvement in nuclear energy, on the grounds that the risk of catastrophic accidents in poor countries with less expertise in nuclear technology was unacceptably high. The bank's policy shift, described in an email to employees late Wednesday, comes as nuclear power is experiencing a global surge in support. Casting nuclear power as an essential replacement for fossil fuels, more than 20 countries — including the United States, Canada, France, and Ghana — signed a pledge to triple nuclear power by 2050 at the United Nations' flagship climate conference two years ago. The Trump administration, while far less concerned about climate change than it is with competing against the Russian and Chinese nuclear industries, is trying to expand the fleet of American reactors and quadruple their contribution to the country's electric grids. Cabinet officials have emphasized support for a new generation of smaller reactors that offer the promise of faster deployment but have yet to be proven. The United States is the World Bank's single largest shareholder and holds significant sway over its policies. In April, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the bank to lift its ban, saying in a speech that doing so would 'revolutionize energy supply for many emerging markets.' — NEW YORK TIMES Advertisement AUTOMAKERS GM dodges tariffs with production shift to US from Mexico The General Motors assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg General Motors plans to invest $4 billion in its US plants over the next two years in response to President Trump's tariffs in a move that reduces production in Mexico while boosting domestic output of some of its some of its top-selling gas-powered vehicles. The spending will expand factories in Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee. The moves will boost annual US production capacity by 300,000 vehicles, GM chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said at a Deutsche Bank conference on Wednesday Assembly of several top-selling models, including its very profitable Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks and the Chevrolet Equinox SUV, will move to factories in the United States from Mexico. GM plans to add between 3,000 and 4,000 US jobs when all production is in place, a spokesman said. The shift marks one of the biggest pivots yet by an automaker in response to Trump's tariffs that have upended the economics of automobile manufacturing. It's also a recognition by chief executive Mary Barra that Trump's trade war is not a passing phase. The investments will allow GM to produce more than 2 million vehicles in the United States each year. GM will continue making vehicles affected by the announcement in Mexico, but at lower volumes, the person said. — BLOOMBERG NEWS Advertisement
The Star
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Japan factory declines slow in May but tariff worries persist, PMI shows
Workers assemble Honda Motor Co. North America-bound Fit vehicles on the production line at the company's Suzuka factory in Suzuka, Mie, Japan, on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg TOKYO: Japan's factory activity shrank at the slowest pace in five months in May as the decline in new orders eased, but worries over U.S. tariffs have dampened the recovery from an almost year-long contraction, a private-sector survey showed on Monday. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 49.4 in May from 48.7 in April, marking the 11th consecutive month of staying below the 50.0-line that indicates contraction. Still, the reading was higher than the flash figure of 49.0 and the highest so far this year. "Manufacturing conditions in Japan moved closer to stabilisation in May, according to latest PMI data, with companies signalling a softer decline in sales and improved jobs growth," said Annabel Fiddes, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiled the survey. Among sub-indexes, new orders fell for the 24th straight month, with manufacturers citing U.S. tariffs and increased client hesitancy as factors behind subdued demand conditions. Factory output also contracted for a ninth consecutive month, at a quicker pace than in April, the survey showed. To mitigate the impact of the U.S. tariffs on cars and other manufacturing sectors, which are the backbone of the Japanese economy, Tokyo has held four rounds of trade talks with Washington and plans a fiscal package to support households and businesses. In a positive sign, input cost inflation eased to a 14-month low in May, while output price inflation slowed to the softest in nearly four years. Employment increased for the sixth month in a row as firms filled vacancies and prepared for anticipated production increases, according to the survey. Business confidence on future output strengthened from April's near five-year low, with firms citing expectations of stronger market demand particularly in the semiconductor industry. However, some expressed concerns over U.S. tariffs, inflation and Japan's declining population as potential headwinds to growth, the survey showed. - Reuters
CNBC
26-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Asia-Pacific markets set to trade flat as Trump's tariff threats on Apple and the EU dent investor sentiment
A customer places a Japanese 10,000 yen banknote on a checkout counter while making a purchase at an Akidai YK supermarket in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, June 27, 2022. Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets are set to trade mixed Monday, trailing losses on all three key benchmarks on Wall Street last Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on tech giant Apple as well as stiffer duties on the European Union. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open slightly higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,250 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 37,190, against the index's last close of 37,160.47 Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 23,479, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI's Friday close of 23,601.26. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is slated to start the day inching higher, with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,387, compared to its last close of 8,360.90. — CNBC's John Melloy and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
