The yen weakened to a two-month low as stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation fueled expectations of faster Federal Reserve rate increases and a wider interest-rate gap with Japan. It traded at 159.91 per dollar at noon in Tokyo on Friday, 0.21 yen weaker than the previous day, after slipping past 160 in New York for the first time since early September. The Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise rates at its Dec. 17–18 meeting, but caution over the economic

A global Microsoft outage disrupted Outlook, Teams and Copilot for tens of thousands of users across 74 countries from Thursday, with connectivity problems persisting for more than eight hours, the BBC reported. Reports of Outlook problems peaked at nearly 140,000, according to Downdetector. Microsoft said unexpectedly unavailable servers had strained its infrastructure across multiple regions and that a cyberattack was unlikely. Recovery remained uneven as the compa

Some of President Donald Trump’s top advisers are blaming Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for the political fallout from outgoing Nvidia chief Jensen Huang’s reported affair with a suspected Chinese intelligence source, The Wall Street Journal reported. Lutnick has drawn criticism over his efforts to stall chip export restrictions and his longstanding ties to Huang, according to people familiar with the discussions. The dispute extends the scandal into

U.S. envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday before heading to Ireland for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Washington sought to revive stalled peace efforts, The Associated Press reported Friday. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, had brokered the first direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in nine months in Abu Dhabi earlier this week. Witkoff and Zelenskyy

South Korea has appointed Ki Hye-kyung as director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) for a three-year term starting Friday, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. Ki, a curator and Korean modern art historian, previously spent about 13 years at the MMCA before serving as director of the Busan Museum of Art and a senior official at Seoul's Buk Seoul Museum of Art. She has also taught at Hongik University since 2023. Culture M

Paris Baguette has opened its first drive-thru store in the U.S., the bakery chain said on Friday. The outlet, located in Moore, Oklahoma, is part of its efforts to expand the franchise business in car-dependent suburban markets. Customers can order coffee, sandwiches, cakes, pastries and bread without leaving their cars, and pick up any in-store item at the drive-thru window after placing an order online or through its app. Paris Baguette operates about 320 stores

South Korean stocks led gains across a mixed Asian market Friday morning, as bargain hunting lifted semiconductor shares in Seoul and Tokyo despite Nvidia's leadership turmoil, while Chinese markets slipped. The KOSDAQ climbed 3.56 percent to 721.32, outpacing the KOSPI's 2.09 percent rise to 5,454.30 as of 10:36 a.m. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.73 percent to 61,872.00, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.74 percent to 23,830.00 and mainland Chi

South Korea's junior KOSDAQ outpaced the main KOSPI Friday morning despite uncertainty surrounding Nvidia's leadership shake-up, climbing 3.59 percent to 721.53. The KOSPI gained 2.08 percent to 5,453.93 as of 10:19 a.m. Bellwethers SK hynix rose 2.79 percent to 1,289,000 won ($962) and Samsung Electronics gained 2.40 percent to 213,000 won. On the junior bourse, semiconductor equipment stocks Jusung Engineering and Wonik Holdings rose 5.47 percent and 7.24

Rain that began on the resort island of Jeju on Friday morning is expected to spread across the country later in the day. Most parts of the country are forecast to see rain overnight, with precipitation expected to ease in most areas by Saturday, although it could linger into the weekend in some southern areas. Accumulated rainfall is forecast to range from 10 to 60 millimeters, depending on the region. Daytime temperatures are expected to range from 15 to 20 degree

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup Wrtn Technologies will participate as a main sponsor of this year's G-STAR next week, the company said on Friday. At the country's largest game exhibition, which kicks off its four-day run on Nov. 19 at BEXCO in Busan, the startup will promote its AI entertainment platform "Crack" through exhibitions and presentations featuring interactive content creation zones and a large LED display. The main-stage