China's Iran Oil Imports Drop in July as Demand Ebbs, Kpler Says
Purchases slowed to about 1.2 million barrels a day, almost 30% lower than in June, and narrowly below the year-ago figure, according to data from intelligence firm Kpler Ltd. Figures from Vortexa Ltd., another data provider, showed a similar decline for the month.
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Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
TNB Tech Minute: Baidu Reports Lower Revenue Amid Weak Ad Business - Tech News Briefing
Full Transcript This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated. Speaker 1: Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Wednesday, August 20th. I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal. In earnings, Chinese search engine giant, Baidu, reported lower quarterly revenue amid a weaker performance in its core advertising business. Profit was better than expected though. Revenue for the second quarter fell 3.6 percent from a year earlier to 32.71 billion yuan, which equals to about 4.55 billion dollars. Baidu's CEO said the company's AI cloud business helped mitigate the near-term pressure on its online marketing business. Plus, General Motors has a new team focused on artificial intelligence. The automaker has been on a hiring spree the last eight months, bringing on board nearly a dozen hires from top tech companies, from Google to Meta to AWS. Its goal: to build a small but mighty AI team that'll assist the organization everywhere from factory production lines to the NASCAR racetrack, as well as help individual groups build AI workforces. Finally, we exclusively report that US battery companies are increasingly looking overseas for new manufacturing opportunities. Group14, a Seattle-based Silicon Valley materials maker, said it closed a $463 million funding round led by South Korean conglomerate SK. As part of that deal, Group14 will take control of the company's silicon battery material manufacturing in South Korea, having previously held a 25% stake in the joint venture. This comes at a time when support for clean tech wanes in the country. And that's a wrap for your TNB Tech Minutes. Tune in tomorrow morning for another quick Tech update.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
US Crude Exports Set to Rebound From Summer Slump on Asia Demand
US crude exports are finally picking up after a muted summer as domestic refineries begin preventive maintenance and the Trump administration threatens tariffs on India for purchasing Russian oil. Shipments are expected to surpass 4 million barrels a day in August and September, reaching levels not seen since the start of the year, according to some market participants. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude in Asia is cheaper than comparable Middle Eastern grades, which should keep encouraging sales over the next two weeks as traders start selling oil for loading in October.
Travel Weekly
an hour ago
- Travel Weekly
The art of hospitality (fiction and nonfiction)
Arnie Weissmann The Japanese have a word for all the books on your shelves that you haven't read yet: tsundoku. It translates as a combination of the Japanese words for "letting things amass" and "reading." I read a lot but am also a practitioner of tsundoku. The titles you see in my bookcases are only the surface layer; there are books lurking behind those. My wife worries the bookcases themselves will collapse under the weight. In an essay by a writer for the company Big Think, which produces videos, essays, interviews and newsletters promoting the ideas of thought leaders in numerous fields, the argument is made that there is value in those unread books. The essay suggests that the presence of unread books serves two purposes: They prompt you to ponder how much you don't know -- something that's always good to keep in mind -- and motivates you to learn more. Looking at my own shelves, I'm reminded of my ignorance about everything from meteorology to the I Ching to Soviet space dogs. But sometimes new books come along that jump the queue, and I open them right away. I received two such books recently, one fiction and one nonfiction, that impart complementary lessons about the art of hospitality. Both are written by experienced hoteliers, and both have value for anyone in travel. Hospitality underpins all sectors of the industry, from retailing to cruise to aviation. Or rather, it should. That's the overlapping message between the two. The nonfiction "Honing the Human Edge" (Greenleaf Book Group, 2025) is written by Edward Mady, whose career in luxury hospitality has included stints at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hotel Bel-Air and several Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons properties. He was named Hotelier of the World by Hotels Magazine in 2017. Mady delivers on the cover blurb that promises to tell "How Leaders Can Unlock Success Through Caring, Coaching and Accountability." He argues that humanity is instrumental in navigating crises and creating alignment across complex organizational structures. He sees the human connection as a strategic advantage "not only to stand out in a competitive world but redefine what success looks like" for individuals and organizations. His real-world experience anchors what might come off as lofty sentiment. He outlines broad approaches to management during good times and bad but also addresses very specific situations on topics as complex as combining cultures after a merger, as distressing as being sued and as personal as firing a friend. The other volume that jumped to the front of the line is "Give Hospitality" (Matt Holt Books, 2025) by Taylor Scott. It's an unusual business book because it's written entirely as a fable. Its imaginary protagonist, Summer Grace, gets a job at an imaginary Hawaii hotel, Kauwela Resorts, and the 180-page book details her journey through a five-day orientation for new employees, workshopping the company's core values while she gets to know managers and fellow initiates. While it's doubtful this will be up for a National Book Award, the unusual construct delivers lessons on compassion, encouragement, kindness and leadership in an accessible format. By setting the property in Hawaii, Scott also introduces many concepts of the aloha spirit that underlie the Islands' culture and are natural guidelines to hospitality. In the book's acknowledgements, Scott says that the fictional property's general manager, Arthur, is based on the real-life Arthur Keith, who had been a mentor when Scott attended Cornell University's school of hotel administration. Keith is the current GM of the university's on-campus Statler Hotel. Scott had previously written a more straightforward business book, "Lead With Hospitality" (Matt Holt Books, 2021). Summer Grace, the fictional heroine of "Give Hospitality," makes a brief appearance there, too, in a parable in that book's introduction. Previously, Scott had worked for Disney, Gaylord, Wynn and, in Las Vegas, the Cosmopolitan. He's currently a travel advisor -- he owns Lead with Hospitality Travel Group by Dream Vacations -- and is an industry consultant/speaker. In the book's epilogue, Scott asserts he would like to actually create a Kauwela Resort in Hawaii and asks readers who might be interested in partnering, collaborating or investing to contact him. As a practitioner of tsundoku, I'm still a novice. The author Umberto Eco, whose best-known fictional work "The Name of the Rose" (Harcourt, 1980) is a medieval murder mystery set in a monastery's library, had a personal library of 30,000 books. Even he admitted that if he read a book a day for 70 years, he could only get through 25,200 of them. You'll have an easier choice than Eco to decide what to read next. If you're in the travel industry, you might consider letting these two hospitality-focused newcomers take precedence. Although I still look forward to learning more about meteorology, the I Ching and Soviet space dogs, I have no regrets that I let these two new books cut the line.
