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  • Business
    The Canadian Press

    The Bank of Japan ends its negative interest rate policy, opting for its first hike in 17 years

    TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate Tuesday for the first time in 17 years, ending a longstanding policy of negative rates meant to boost the economy. The short-term rate was raised to a range of 0 to 0.1% from minus 0.1% at a policy meeting that confirmed expectations of a shift away from ultra-lax monetary policy. It’s the first rate hike since February 2007. The bank had set an inflation target of 2% as an indicator that Japan had finally escaped deflationary

  • Politics
    The Canadian Press

    4 things to know from Elon Musk's interview with Don Lemon

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Former CNN reporter Don Lemon mixed it up with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in an interview Lemon posted on Musk’s X social network Monday. The interview was supposed to kick off Lemon’s new talk show on X, formerly known as Twitter, at least until Musk canceled the show shortly after the interview was recorded. Over the course of slightly more than an hour, the two men jousted over subjects ranging from the political consequences of immigration and the benefits and harms of content

  • Business
    The Canadian Press

    Spotify paid $9 billion in royalties in 2023. Here's what fueled the growth

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Spotify paid out $9 billion in streaming royalties last year, the streaming giant said Tuesday in its latest “Loud and Clear” report. Spotify's fourth annual report, which originally launched in 2021 following criticism over its lack of transparency, noted record accomplishments, including the highest annual payment from any retailer to the music industry. “This is everything we know about how much is being paid out, how many artists are achieving different levels of success,”

  • Business
    The Canadian Press

    Rules that helped set real estate agent commissions are changing. Here's what you need to know

    The cost of hiring a real estate agent to buy or sell a home may soon change, along with decades-old rules that have helped determine broker commissions. The policy changes could help spur price competition for agents' services and lower the cost for sellers who now typically cover the commission for the buyer's agent, as well as that of their own. In turn, more homebuyers could face pressure to pay for their agent's commission out of pocket. That could be a challenge, especially for buyers alre