Where to travel in 2024? Here are five spots to avoid crowds

Tired of the usual sights or craving a break from the travel herd? These five travel spots may be the getaway you’re looking for. Adventure travel company Intrepid Travel’s new “Not Hot” list is out — spotlighting overlooked travel spots around the world. The company’s annual list attempts to combat overtourism by helping travelers “beat … Read more

Santa Claus rally is in trouble, may signal weaker stocks

The Santa Claus rally is in trouble. That’s the tendency for the stock market to rise on the last five days of the old year, and the first two days of the new year — typically good for a gain of 1.3%, and historically the best seven-consecutive-day period of the year. But not so far. With … Read more

Economy, Gaza war and China ties dominate

Presidential candidates Anies Baswedan, Prabowo Subianto, and Ganjar Pranowo, along with their vice presidential candidates, are posing for photos after the first presidential candidate debate at the General Election Commission (KPU) office in Jakarta, Indonesia, on December 12, 2023. Indonesia is preparing to hold general elections for president and vice president for the 2024-2029 period … Read more

SAP to pay more than $230 million to settle bribery charges: DOJ & SEC

Christian Klein, CEO of the software company SAP, stands on the podium looking at his cell phone before the start of the company’s Annual General Meeting. Uwe Anspach | Picture Alliance | Getty Images SAP, the $192 billion German enterprise tech company, will pay more than $230 million to settle investigations into worldwide “recidivist” foreign … Read more

Alibaba’s Lazada cuts staff across Southeast Asia in fresh round of layoffs

Lazada is the third-largest e-commerce player in Indonesia, after Sea Limited’s Shopee and Tokopedia, according to Momentum Works. Matt Hunt | Lightrocket | Getty Images SINGAPORE — Alibaba-owned Lazada began its latest round of layoffs on Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told CNBC, following a slew of media reports about cuts … Read more

It’s a big election year around the world. Here’s where the pros are watching

2024 is set to be a major election year, with over 75 countries heading to the polls. The Economist Intelligence Unit says that more than four billion people — or over half of the world’s population — live in countries with elections expected this year. These range from the U.K. and the U.S., to Russia, … Read more

Oil settles lower as Russia fuel export ban boosts, rate hikes weigh

This aerial photo shows the Enping 15-1 oil platform 200 km southwest of Shenzhen, south China, May 31, 2023. Mao Siqian | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Oil prices settled lower after choppy trading on Thursday, rising as much as $1 a barrel after a Russian ban on fuel exports snatched the focus from … Read more

TikTok’s Southeast Asia ambitions to take major hit with Indonesia ban

TOPSHOT – A staff of a small shoe manufacturer shows their new products to make an introductory video to be posted on social media in Bogor, West Java on September 27, 2023. Indonesia has banned goods transactions on social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook or Instagram in a new regulation, its trade minister said … Read more

TikTok to invest $1.5 billion in GoTo’s Indonesia e-commerce business

TikTok’s logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen in Ankara, Turkiye on December 5, 2023. Didem Mente | Anadolu | Getty Images TikTok will take a controlling stake in an e-commerce unit of Indonesia’s biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, a partnership that will see the short video app invest $1.5 billion over the long term, the two … Read more

More bodies found after sudden eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Marapi, raising confirmed death toll to 22

Family members carry the body of Muhammad Alfikri, 19, a Mount Marapi eruption victim, in Bandar Buat, Padang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, December 5, 2023, in this photo taken by Antara Foto.  Antara Foto | Via Reuters Rescuers searching the hazardous slopes of Indonesia’s Mount Marapi volcano found 11 more bodies of climbers who were … Read more