– Microsoft said on Monday it is offering voluntary buyouts to a wide range of employees as it balances a costly artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out with capital efficiency. The new voluntary exit offer covers certain workers in the United States,

– South Korea posted the second-largest current account surplus among major economies in the second quarter, exceeding the combined surpluses of Germany and Japan. The country’s surplus reached $116.63 billion in the April-June period, according to central bank data reported

– Trade between Russia and Oman grew 22-fold in the first seven months of 2026 to reach $1.5 billion, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said. He gave the figures on Tuesday, October 20, during a meeting in Moscow with

– Japan recorded a trade deficit of 536.6 billion yen in September as imports grew faster than exports, preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance showed. Exports rose 16.7% from a year earlier to 10.9723 trillion yen. Imports climbed 18.9%

– South Korea’s exports more than doubled from a year earlier in the first 20 days of October, reaching $61.6 billion on record semiconductor shipments. The Korea Customs Service released the data on Wednesday. Average daily exports, measured by working

– Brent crude touched $110 a barrel on Friday for the first time since May as escalating Middle East tensions raised fears of tighter supplies. Brent futures for December delivery settled $3.94, or 3.7%, higher at $109.86, the highest close