Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's economy expanded 4.2% in the first quarter of 2024 from a year earlier, beating market expectations on higher household spending and a turnaround in exports, government and central bank data showed on Friday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast gross domestic product growth of 3.9% in the January to March period, matching the advance estimate by the Statistics Department. Annual growth in the final quarter of... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - A severe storm packing hurricane-force winds pummeled Houston on Thursday, killing at least four people, blowing windows out of high-rise buildings and leaving some 800,000 homes without power as much of the city was plunged into darkness, the mayor said.

Much of downtown Houston and its commercial district were littered with fallen power lines and glass from shattered windows following the storm, with traffic and street lights knocked out... (continue reading...)

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese commercial space company CAS Space announced its "space tourism vehicle" will first fly in 2027 and travel to the edge of space in 2028, state media reported on Friday.

The announcement comes just days after Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin announced that its New Shepard Rocket, which flies cargo and humans on short trips to the edge of space, would resume flights on Sunday, ending a near two-year pause of crewed operations.

(Reuters) - General Motors and South Korean battery firm LG Energy Solution reached a settlement to establish a $150 million fund to provide monetary relief to Chevrolet Bolt EV owners who were affected by defective batteries, documents filed in a U.S. court on Thursday showed.

GM launched the Chevrolet Bolt EV in 2015, using batteries made by LG as part of a strategic partnership between the two companies.

GM started issuing recalls in... (continue reading...)

By Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam forfeited at least $2.5 billion in foreign aid over the last three years and may lose another $1 billion because of administrative paralysis, the United Nations, the World Bank and Western donors told the government in a letter seen by Reuters.

The previously unreported figures from the unpublished document, dated March 6, highlight frustration among foreign investors over... (continue reading...)