MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ weak manufacturing sector is limiting wage growth and putting consumer spending at risk, Oxford Economics said on Wednesday. In a note, the research firm said Philippine manufacturing has lagged the region, while recent wage gains have relied on one-off minimum wage hikes instead of productivity and employment growth. READ: Philippine factory activity edges up in June A stronger manufacturing and export sector could lift household incomes through job creation, higher wages and bonuses, as well as dividends and stock-based compensation, Oxford Economics said. But in the Philippines, Oxford Economics said the…

When it comes to enthusiast-geared Honda hardware, the Civic Si, Civic Type R, and Acura NSX often come to mind first for their revvy VTEC (Honda’s form of variable valve timing) engines and playful chassis dynamics. The Prelude, on the other hand, less so. Instead, the Prelude is a technological study — still aimed at driving fun, but by way of integrating clever forms of engineering into a sleek grand touring coupe body. The second-generation Prelude’s fuel injection was derived from F1. Then the third gen got four-wheel steering way back in the late ’80s. The fourth gen? It was the first everyday Honda to inherit the NSX’s VTEC on both the intake…

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong, are set to meet with Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang and other global tech executives in the United States later this week to discuss cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), industry sources said Wednesday. A meeting in San Francisco on Friday (U.S. time), organized by the South Korean government, will bring together Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, according to the sources. At a dinner…

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political…

When Ferrari unveiled plans to sell an SUV a few years ago, the automotive world was aghast. Now Range Rover is set to raise eyebrows in a similar fashion by doing the opposite: steering away from its 4x4 roots to launch its first conventional saloon-like car. It marks the first time in Range Rover's near-60-year history that it will sell a vehicle that isn't a jacked-up SUV. The electric GT has been confirmed as the newest member of the Range Rover family and will sit alongside the flagship full-fat Range Rover, as well as the Sport, Velar and Evoque models. As you can see from the striking images, it doesn't have the generous ground clearance…

“We have spent the last few years working obsessively on the fundamentals of the GT formula, reinterpreted in a sophisticated, uniquely Range Rover way,” said Martin Limpert, managing director of Range Rover. “The result is the most car-like, yet unmistakably capable, Range Rover ever created, now possible on our electrified EMA architecture—complementing our existing powertrain portfolio to deliver a complete set of options for every customer need. Its blend of effortless EV performance, first-class long-haul refinement and all-terrain capability is pure Range Rover; while its calming interior previews our vision of a modern grand tourer,” he said.…

In what looks to be a radical departure from its existing lineup, Range Rover has confirmed an entirely new fifth vehicle: the Range Rover GT, an all-electric grand tourer built on the company's Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA), the same platform that will underpin other midsized cars for the brand. Range Rover has only shared camouflaged prototype pictures for now, as the GT is supposedly still undergoing final testing, ahead of a full launch expected later this year. That means details on this completely new model are scant to say the least: no price, no range, and no power figures have been disclosed. As for a release date, Range Rover…

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political…

China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry sits at the centre of numerous economic and geopolitical trends: consumer spending, environmental protection, trade policy, high-end manufacturing, technology and more. In this short series, we assess the current state of the sector within these broader contexts. Here, Yeon Woo Lee asks whether Beijing has written a blueprint for developing countries to kick-start their own contenders in the field. Emerging markets once seemed like also-rans in the global car industry. In the days when petrol vehicles predominated, manufacturers required vast supplier networks and hard-won expertise in engines, transmissions and…

Volkswagen is bringing some high-tech car features to a new line of electric bikes, including an optional pair of smart glasses. The German automaker recently unveiled two premium Volkswagen-branded e-bikes developed by n+, a bike company that has previously partnered with Mercedes-AMG’s Formula 1 team. © Volkswagen The companies say the bikes were designed with the same “safety-first philosophy” as a modern passenger vehicle and come packed with tech more commonly found in cars like radar, a rearview camera, blind-spot alerts and turn signals. These e-bikes arrive as automakers and startups are showing growing interest in smaller and cheaper…

From time to time, Apple shares real-life stories of users who received potentially life-saving help from the Apple Watch’s safety features. Today, the company published a new video recounting how Fall Detection and Emergency SOS helped rescue an injured cyclist. You can watch it below. Apple showcases Apple Watch safety features In a new video published on its YouTube channel, Apple highlights the story of Phil, who was left unconscious after crashing his mountain bike while riding with his kids. In the Apple-commissioned video, Phil says he “misjudged” his takeoff, breaking his collarbone and seven ribs in the crash. The impact knocked him…

Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actress best known for her starring role in two Godzilla films, died in a car crash in Maryland early Tuesday morning, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said. She was 18. Hottle was one of two passengers in the car when it went off the road and hit a culvert in Ijamsville before 3 a.m. local time. The driver, a 19-year-old Frederick man, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and…

Ryan Haines / Android Authority Amazon has cut the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus down to $699.98, which is $300 off the $999.99 recommended retail price. That’s a 30% discount off RRP, putting this previous-gen flagship phone well below its usual asking price. It has only been cheaper during the recent Prime Day sale, so this is a deal worth a look while it lasts. The Galaxy S25 Plus sits in the middle of Samsung’s lineup, giving you a big-screen flagship experience without stepping up to the Ultra. It has a 6.7-inch QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, plus a slimmer and lighter build than many other large phones. Samsung also packs in its…

Battery materials startup Sila announced Tuesday that it raised $300 million to expand its factory in Washington state to produce enough anode material for more than 100,000 EVs. Sila’s expansion arrives as electric vehicle demand in the U.S. has softened in the wake of the Trump administration’s efforts to hamstring the propulsion technology. While sales remain depressed in the U.S., down this year relative to 2025 when demand spiked before the sunset of tax credits, EVs are taking a bigger slice of the market elsewhere. According to Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, global sales are up 27% year over year. Sila previously announced deals to supply its…

SK On says solid-state cells can give industrial robots the 8+ hour runtime of a human shift, but adoption might be another story While upcoming solid-state batteries boost productivity through longer operating times and lower overall operating costs, they are prohibitively more expensive than some of their lithium-ion peers Modern Li-on-based batteries are under 2% of a robot's manufacturing cost today, and solid-state would push that share to around 8%, a premium that could come with serious tradeoffs for manufacturers Modern robotics is a field that continues to grow over time, fueled by a mix of smarter AI, manufacturing efficiencies and at times,…

Swedish electric and autonomous trucking company Einride has agreed to acquire EV charging startup Flipturn in an all-stock deal worth $38 million. The acquisition — Einride’s first as a publicly traded company — will expand its EV-charging ecosystem as it works to scale its electric trucking business. The deal is expected to close this month. Flipturn, which employs 17 people, will continue operating with the same team, a company spokesperson confirmed. Flipturn, founded in 2022, raised $15.5 million in venture capital to build an EV-charging software platform that can communicate with any EV charger over the Open Charge Point Protocol, the industry…

TL;DR Sila raised $300M to expand its Moses Lake silicon anode plant, pitching US-made battery materials as an alternative to Chinese supply chains. Sila, the battery materials company formerly known as Sila Nanotechnologies, has raised $300 million in a private equity round led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures to expand its silicon anode manufacturing plant in Moses Lake, Washington. 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and T Rowe Price also participated, alongside existing investors including In-Q-Tel, the venture arm of the US intelligence community. The round brings total funding to well above $1 billion for a company…

Tesla has brought an unspecified number of its unsupervised Model Y SUVs to Orlando and Tampa, just one day ahead of the company’s scheduled second-quarter earnings call. That marks the third city in Florida where Tesla is trialing its nascent robotaxi service, following a small launch in Miami a few weeks ago. The two new cities appear to have fairly small operational areas, and Tesla did not offer any further details about the launch. As some fans have noticed, Tesla announced autonomous fleets in Dallas and Houston before its first-quarter earnings release but has yet to scale those operations. The company disbanded its press office years ago.…

TL;DR GM beat Q2 estimates by 37 cents a share, raised guidance, and announced gas-powered Cadillacs for 2027 as its EV pullback nears completion. General Motors beat Wall Street’s second-quarter estimates by 37 cents a share on Tuesday, raised its full-year earnings guidance for the second time this year, and used the same earnings call to announce that Cadillac will launch new gas-powered versions of the CT5 sedan, XT5 crossover, and discontinued XT6 three-row SUV starting next spring. Revenue came in at $48 billion, above the $47 billion analysts had expected, while adjusted earnings rose roughly 30 percent year over year to nearly $4 billion. CFO…

Tesla's 2026 Summer Update: auto navigation, Grok phone calls, Caraoke scoring, and more ElectrekTesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more TeslaratiTesla Announces Summer Update: Grok Vehicle Commands, Preferred Routes, Add Vehicle Wraps in App and More Not a Tesla AppTesla's Conversational AI 'Grok' Lands in Japan, Becoming a "Co-Pilot Assistant" That Handles Voice Chat and Navigation finance.biggo.comGrok Comes to Tesla Vehicles in India, Thailand & More BASENOR - Tesla Accessories

MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. The number of tourist trips by Russian citizens to China is projected to increase by 40-50% by the end of 2026, according to forecasts by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). "ATOR predicts that by the end of 2026, the number of Russian tourist trips to China will increase by 40-50%, while growth in the organized tourism segment could reach 70% year-on-year," the association said in a statement. Artur Muradyan, ATOR Vice President for International Tourism and CEO of the Space Travel tour operator, noted that the visa-free travel regime is also facilitating the expansion of travel geography. "While vacations on…

A grieving family has confronted the mechanic who wrongly passed the MOT of a car that killed three people in a crash - after he brushed off an issue with the seatbelt. Neil Lewis, 47, confessed to fraud by false representation following the deaths of Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and driver Rafel Jeanne, 24. The trio were inside the Volkswagen Tiguan with Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, when the vehicle veered off the road and smashed into trees in a wooded area. The family of Ms Ross approached Lewis outside Cardiff Magistrates' Court today - brandishing a framed photo of her and shouting: 'Darcy Ross, remember her name.' Families of the…

2025 Cadillac Escalade V-Series SUV Cadillac DETROIT — General Motors will launch new gas-powered Cadillac vehicles beginning next spring as the automaker continues to shift gears away from all-electric vehicles. GM CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday that the next-generation Cadillacs will include new versions of the company's CT5 sedan, outdated XT5 midsize SUV and discontinued three-row XT6 SUV. "Starting next spring and continuing into 2028, we will begin launching the next generation of Cadillac ICE [internal combustion engine] vehicles," Barra said during the company's second-quarter earnings call. She said the vehicles will be in addition to Cadillac's…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have signed an agreement to strengthen the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem through local manufacturing and technology transfer, as the government prepares to roll out a new Battery Energy Storage System Policy. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan witnessed the signing of an MoU between StarCharge, StarCharge Energy Pakistan and Bahum Global Ltd, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Industries and Production on Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion, Khan said the government is committed to transforming Pakistan's transportation sector through electric…

A Hong Kong kindergarten clerk who was seriously injured by a taxi during the 2019 anti-government protests has told the High Court she has been unable to resume a normal life, citing ongoing mobility limitations, extensive leg scarring and the likelihood of future knee replacement surgery. Park Hoi-lam’s lawyers on Tuesday urged the court to find taxi driver Henry Cheng Kwok-chuen liable for at least HK$8.4 million (US$1.07 million) in damages after his vehicle mounted a pavement and struck her during a demonstration in Sham Shui Po on October 6, 2019. The defence denied liability and stressed the cabby lost control of his car after being surrounded…

Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. The Tenways Wayfarer is absurdly comfortable in a way you notice within the first 30 seconds. The suspension setup smooths out rough pavement, potholes, and busted-up bike lanes so well that you stop bracing for impacts and just start cruising. It has that rare “sit back and relax” ride quality that makes you want to stay outdoors as you take the long way home. This bike is also…

Do you use your vehicle’s app to pre‑cool the cabin on a scorching day, confirm the doors are locked from bed, or have the car automatically call for help when the airbags go off? Savor those connected, cloud‑based conveniences while you can—the clock is already ticking on their obsolescence. In a few short years, you may be driving today’s vehicle without many of the features you currently enjoy. How we got hooked on the cloud “Connected services”—cloud-based and networked features that let a vehicle communicate with external systems to deliver apps, data, and remote functions to drivers and passengers—have been around since the 1990s, when GM…

I took in a lost cat but its owner turned up and wants it back, do I have to return it? DEAN DUNHAM KC replies Our consumer lawyer reveals uncomfortable truth about a common situation By DEAN DUNHAM KC, MONEY MAIL CONSUMER LAWYER Updated: 09:13 EDT, 21 July 2026 A few weeks ago I found a young cat in the street with no collar, looking distressed. I took him home and brought him to a vet, who confirmed he wasn’t microchipped. I put up posters but no one contacted me, so after a month I took them down. I assumed he had been abandoned so had the cat chipped and vaccinated and bought all the supplies. Now I’ve received a text from someone saying I have…

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Although it sometimes feels like automakers have all but abandoned everything other than high-end luxury model vehicles, it’s not universally true. While some car companies have lobbied the government, terrified, asking to build protective walls to fend off cheap Chinese competition, others have looked at the problem from a different angle, trying to meet the moment. One such effort is the new Kia Seltos, a small SUV that takes inspiration from the Telluride but with a starting price of just $24,990 plus delivery charge. The US almost didn’t get the Seltos in the first place; the first-generation model was designed with China in…

SINGAPORE – Car showrooms in shopping malls are becoming a common sight, with nine out of 13 opening in the last 18 months, and at least one more slated to open in Bedok later in 2026. Dealers are no more simply banking on buyers making the trip to showrooms in established car retail belts like Leng Kee, Ubi and Alexandra. Instead, the car dealers open shop in malls, and try to boost sales by clinching deals with shoppers and diners who may not be actively looking to buy a car. There is also pressure from competitors to open as many outlets as possible, whether in malls or commercial buildings, sources said. Chinese car giant BYD, for instance, shows…