CNBC International’s Post

Volatility in the Japanese yen is prompting decade-old snack box subscription service ICHIGO Inc. to take more hedging measures. ➡️ Ichigo co-founder David Asikin and his team are now expanding into brick and mortar snack stores across Japan in order to hedge against the gyrations of the yen. ➡️ The company sells its snack boxes overseas in U.S. dollars but incurs all of its costs including staffing, production, sourcing in Japanese yen. CNBC's Lin Lin (formerly Evlin) reports from Japan.

Here are today’s top stories from CNBC’s Europe headquarters. #CNBCPolitics Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israel’s military forces. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/489XBKO #CNBCAutos Auto giants take EV fight to China Several of Europe’s biggest carmakers unveiled low-cost electric vehicles (EVs) at the Paris Motor Show this week, seeking to jump-start a demand slump and recapture some of the market share now held by Chinese brands. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/48d8ATZ #CNBCTech UK's Ofcom warns of big fines for tech giants Technology giants could face “significant” fines if they don’t comply with the U.K.‘s internet safety regulations, which are set to enter into force in two months’ time, the British media regulator Ofcom warned Thursday. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/3BPFiyq #CNBCMarkets European market moves European markets closed higher on Thursday as traders assessed a flurry of corporate results and the European Central Bank’s third interest rate cut of the year. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/3Yt9JUa

Standing in the office of Will Jackson, founder of Engineered Arts, is Ameca, a robot that can talk and move like a human. It is the latest and most advanced iteration of two-decades of robot development from Engineered Arts Ltd, a humanoid manufacturer based in Cornwall, England. Ameca is an advanced piece of machinery, designed to interact with humans for entertainment and social purposes. Its head alone contains 27 motors that help it replicate human facial movements. It has cameras in each of the eyes to allow Ameca to "see" the world around it. The robot also has the ability to understand and respond to questions posed by humans. How? Ameca can run large artificial intelligence models, the kind that underpin ChatGPT. Currently, Engineered Arts is trialing GPT 4, the latest AI model from OpenAI. Ameca can also tell jokes, respond in voices of celebrities or famous TV characters, and even dance. She even addressed concerns about whether robots pose a threat to humanity. The robot cannot yet walk, but Engineered Arts is working on technology to allow Ameca to do so. Watch Arjun Kharpal’s visit to Engineered Arts' headquarters in Falmouth, U.K., and even a short interview with Ameca, here: https://cnb.cx/3YrN76p

New European Union regulations requiring businesses to bolster their cyber defenses is off to a slow start as many member states have failed to adopt the rules in time to meet a key enforcement deadline, according to research monitoring the progress of the directive. ➡️ The EU’s NIS 2 cybersecurity directive sets a high benchmark for companies over their internal cybersecurity systems and practices. It imposes tougher requirements around risk management, transparency obligations and business continuity planning, in the event of a cyber breach. Read more: https://cnb.cx/3NudDpf

Visitor spending in Japan broke an annual record in just nine months, official data showed on Wednesday, demonstrating the economic power of a tourism boom fueled by the weak yen. ➡️ Travelers spent 5.86 trillion yen ($39.27 billion) through September, preliminary figures from the Japan National Tourism Organization showed. That eclipsed the 5.3 trillion yen spent in all of 2023, a record for any 12-month period. Read more: https://cnb.cx/4eLr5RO

5 big stories we were watching today #CNBCEconomy UK inflation falls Inflation in the U.K. dropped sharply to 1.7% in September, ramping up market expectations for a Bank of England rate cut in November. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/3UapYmi #CNBCAutos The solid-state batteries hype is fading Despite the hype around solid-state batteries, some analysts believe an alternative could serve as a bridge between these are traditional lithium-ion batteries. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/40q1CsX #CNBCPolitics UK urged to adopt Italian-style tax regime Britain’s ultra-rich non-doms are urging the UK to adopt an Italian-style tax regime to prevent a wealth exodus. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/3A4q4oJ #CNBCPro Citi names ‘underappreciated’ AI stock Citi has named Pegasystems one of its new top picks, citing an “underappreciated” artificial intelligence story and attractive valuation. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/3U9Uv3L #CNBCMarkets Europe market moves European markets closed lower Wednesday, with chip stocks and luxury goods leading losses following sales warnings. ➡️ https://cnb.cx/4h1vxNT

Global semiconductor stocks dropped on Wednesday after Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML posted disappointing sales forecasts. ➡️ Shares of ASML extended losses into the second day at the start of the European trading session, down 5%. ➡️ASML's CEO Christophe Fouquet warned of cautiousness among customers in the company's results, saying a "recovery is more gradual than previously expected." ➡️ Meanwhile, shares of Japanese semiconductor manufacturing firm Tokyo Electron logged the biggest losses, dropping nearly 10%. Read the full article: https://cnb.cx/4f3XeUr

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s international arm on Wednesday launched an updated version of its artificial intelligence-powered translation tool that, it says, is better than products offered by Google, DeepL and ChatGPT. ➡️ That’s based on an assessment of Alibaba International’s new model, Marco MT, by translation benchmark framework Flores, the Chinese company said. ➡️ Alibaba’s fast-growing international unit released the AI translation product as an update to one unveiled about a year ago, which it says already has 500,000 merchant users. Read more: https://cnb.cx/3Ns3hX1