Inkhabar webdesk

(Reuters) -Apple has halted a planned overhaul of its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset to shift resources to smart glasses that would rival products from Meta Platforms, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The iPhone maker had been preparing a cheaper, lighter variant of its headset, code-named N100, for release in 2027, Bloomberg said. But the company told staff internally last week that it is reallocating employees from that project to accelerate work on glasses. The $3,499 Vision Pro, launched in February 2024 to heavy fanfare, has struggled to sustain momentum amid a thin slate of mainstream content and competition from cheaper devices such as Meta's Quest. Apple is working on at least two types of smart glasses, the report said. The first, dubbed N50, will pair with an iPhone and lack its own display. Apple aims to unveil the model as soon as next year, ahead of a release in 2027. The second version, with a display, is planned for 2028, but Apple is now seeking to accelerate development of the product that could challenge the Meta Ray-Ban Display, the report said. In September, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off the company's first consumer-ready $800 smart glasses with a built-in display and a new wristband controller at Meta's Connect event. Meta also unveiled a new pair of Oakley-branded glasses called Vanguard aimed at athletes. Apple's glasses will rely heavily on voice interaction and artificial intelligence, the report said. The company declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters. At its annual product launch event last month, Apple introduced an upgraded line of iPhones, alongside a slimmer iPhone Air. The event, however, was light on evidence of how Apple — a laggard in the AI race — aims to close the gap with the likes of Google, which showcased the capabilities of its Gemini AI model in its latest flagship phones. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Manya Saini (Reuters) -Fitch said on Wednesday it does not expect the ongoing U.S. government shutdown to affect the country's sovereign ratings in the near term, adding that any impact on economic growth would depend on its scope and duration. The U.S. government shut down much of its operations earlier in the day as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long, grueling standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. "Fitch will continue to assess developments around the U.S. regulatory environment, rule of law, and institutional checks and balances as part of its sovereign credit analysis," the ratings agency said. It expects the general government deficit to narrow to 6.8% of GDP in 2025 from 7.7% in 2024, partly due to a surge in tariff revenues, which it now sees reaching $300 billion. "Despite increased uncertainty around U.S. policy and the possible erosion of institutional checks and balances, we expect the U.S. dollar's predominant reserve currency status — a material sovereign rating strength — to continue for the foreseeable future," Fitch added. S&P Global Ratings said, separately, that government shutdowns generally have only a marginal effect on the broader economy, and it does not consider them credit events for the U.S. sovereign rating. But secondary effects can build up over time, it warned, as furloughed workers cut spending and delays in key economic data add uncertainty for the Federal Reserve. S&P Global estimated the shutdown could trim GDP growth by 0.1% to 0.2% for every week the government is closed. A government shutdown can have broad implications, disrupting federal services, slowing economic activity, and increasing uncertainty for markets and businesses. The longest U.S. government shutdown, lasting 35 days in 2018-2019 during President Donald Trump's first term, partly ended after flight delays triggered by air traffic controllers calling in sick. It remains unclear how long the current government shutdown will continue. The main U.S. stock indexes bounced back from early lows on Wednesday. [.N] "Government shutdowns are inconvenient and messy, but there is little evidence that they have a significant impact on the economy," said Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X. "Typically, the lost economic activity, if meaningful in the first place, is recovered in the following quarter." (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Prakhar Srivastava; Editing by Alan Barona)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Group of Seven nations' finance ministers said on Wednesday they will take joint steps to increase pressure on Russia by targeting those who are continuing to increase their purchases of Russian oil and those that are facilitating circumvention. The G7 finance ministers also said they agreed on the importance of trade measures, including tariffs and import and export bans, in efforts to cut off Russian revenues due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The joint statement followed a virtual meeting of the finance minister. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Washington has called on its allies to impose tariffs on purchasers of Russian oil like India and China. While Trump has refrained from imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports over China's purchases of Russian oil, his administration has targeted New Delhi with extra tariffs on imports from India. The G7 statement on Wednesday did not name India or China. KEY QUOTES "We will target those who are continuing to increase their purchase of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine and those that are facilitating circumvention," G7's statement said. "We will take concrete measures to significantly reduce, with the objective of phasing out, our remaining imports from Russia, including on hydrocarbon imports," it added. The G7 foreign ministers also said they were "giving serious consideration" to trade measures and other restrictions on countries helping finance Russia's war efforts. No country was identified in the statement. CONTEXT Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. Russia has faced heavy sanctions from Western powers who have been considering ways to restrict financing for its war efforts. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)