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Burp tax causes pre-poll stink with New Zealand farmers
Burp tax causes pre-poll stink with New Zealand farmers
Economy
by  AFP

New Zealand has a plan to tax farmers for their livestock's burps and farts -- and it's causing a stink ahead of Saturday's general elections. To help combat global warming, New Zealand was one of the first countries to announce it will start pricing agricultural emissions -- in effect taxing burps and farts from livestock.

US extends China chip waiver for Taiwan's TSMC: minister
US extends China chip waiver for Taiwan's TSMC: minister
Economy
by  AFP

The United States has extended a waiver to Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC to supply US chip-making equipment to its factories in China, the island's economic affairs minister said Friday. Semiconductors have become a flashpoint issue between the United States and China, which are locked in a fierce battle over access to chip-making technology and supplies.

Mysterious rise in US Treasury yields perturbs markets
Mysterious rise in US Treasury yields perturbs markets
Economy
by  AFP

The surge in US treasury yields has sparked much anxiety among investors, in part because there is no easy explanation for the rise. Perplexing moves by US treasuries in response to economic news "suggest a shift in bond investors' focus from what monetary policymakers may do, to rising alarm about what fiscal policymakers are doing."