Economy

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The report, based on internal deposit account data, finds that nearly half of gig workers earned income from these platforms for just one month over the last year, while 74% worked three months or fewer.Despite the flexibility and accessibility of gig jobs, these findings suggest that most individuals turn to gig work to supplement spending rather than as a consistent income source.Bank of America’s aggregated spending data further illustrates this trend. In September 2024, gig workers exhibited a 23% higher median discretionary spending than non-gig workers, while their necessity spending—covering rent, groceries, and other essentials—was only 5% higher.This discrepancy highlights that many gig workers use these roles to supplement their discretionary purchasing power, such as dining out, travel, and electronics, rather than relying on gig income for day-to-day expenses.The gig economy’s participation rate among Bank of America’s deposit customers has grown modestly, rising to 3.8% in September 2024 from 2.8% in September 2019. However, its overall scale remains small and stable.Within the gig categories, ridesharing and social commerce saw a year-over-year uptick.For social commerce, the annual increase “could be due in part to increased consumer demand for thrifted items bought via social commerce sites, which mirrors the broader trend of consumers trading down on goods in order to spend on experiences,” the report states.Meanwhile, food delivery participation has slightly declined, possibly reflecting consumer sensitivity to the rising costs associated with delivery services.The share of income from vacation rentals has been consistently minimal, “likely as rising real estate prices remain a high barrier of entry and international tourism remains strong,” BofA notes.Another key finding is that gig workers overwhelmingly stick to a single gig platform. Over 92% of gig workers earned income from just one platform in September 2024, a number that has remained stable despite minor increases in the share of workers participating in two or more gigs.“Overall, the stability in gig employment is likely a good thing for the labor market,” BofA concludes.“Although it’s not likely to be a major driver of full-time employment, it can be especially helpful for those looking to supplement their household’s spending or for people who need flexible work arrangements.” More

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Viktor Orbán has turned Hungary into the main home for Chinese capital in Europe, capturing more than a quarter of all Chinese investment coming into the continent over the past two years. The outsized share, including a wave of investment into EV factories, has been a fillip to an otherwise struggling Hungarian economy hit by the EU withholding about €20bn of funding over rule of law concerns. Orbán’s challenge now is pulling off the diplomatic gymnastics required to simultaneously remain an ally to Xi Jinping and Donald Trump’s incoming administration of China hawks, while managing the threat of a chronic decline in EU funds.Even against the backdrop of his rule of law dispute with Brussels, Orbán has exacerbated tensions with other EU capitals by maintaining strong diplomatic ties with both Beijing and Moscow. Márton Nagy, economy minister and a former adviser to prime minister Orbán, told the Financial Times that China’s investments had helped maintain the country’s car industry as “a very strong core” of its economy, which is eventually expected to account for almost a third of GDP.Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.China’s most important EV and battery groups — BYD and CATL — were among those scouring the EU for local manufacturing sites, even before Brussels put new tariffs on Chinese exports.BYD last year chose the southern Hungarian city of Szeged as the location for its first large factory in Europe. CATL is building a €7.3bn plant in the east of the country. While both Chinese companies are privately owned, they have close ties with Beijing and have been key beneficiaries of a supportive Chinese industrial policy for years. Hungary emerged as a perfect partner for the Chinese companies, with lower labour and land costs than other parts of Europe coupled with the backdrop of warm political ties between Beijing and Budapest. China upgraded Hungary to one of its closest international partners in May, with Xi pledging to invest in key infrastructure projects during a visit to Budapest. Nagy said both BYD and CATL would open their doors by the second half of next year, along with a string of other Chinese greenfield investments, with their impact on the economy and wages being “felt as soon as the work starts”. The paraphernalia across Nagy’s desk, including dragons and a name plate featuring Chinese script, were a sign of Budapest’s tireless efforts to court China. Economy minister Márton Nagy in his office: ‘Trump is a businessman, he will make deals’ More

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Xi warned the United States not to get involved in bilateral disputes over islands and reefs in the South China Sea or “aid or abet the impulsion to make provocations” in that region, it said.China and United States would roil or even see relations take a setback in rivalry with each other, but could make considerable progress by treating each other as partners and friends, Xi told Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic forum summit in Peru, according to Xinhua. More

(Reuters) -TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is valuing itself at about $300 billion, after it recently approached investors about a share buyback program, according to two people familiar with the matter and a document viewed by Reuters. ByteDance reached out to investors in recent weeks, offering a price of $180.70 per share, the people said. The current offer price is an increase of 12.9% from the per share price of $160 in their last buy back program. The news about the valuation was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal.ByteDance did not have any IPO plan in sight, one of the sources said, adding that the buyback program is a way to provide Bytedance with liquidity.This is the third buy back program for investors from Bytedance, which has been conducting share buybacks since 2022. The company in Dec 2023 offered to buyback around $5 billion worth of shares from investors at a price of $160 each, which valued the company at $268 billion. ByteDance had been planning to carry out the buyback program regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, another source said, declining to be identified.ByteDance, whose global revenue grew 30% last year to $110 billion, has been facing a legal battle over its U.S. assets. A law signed by U.S. President Joe Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban. The White House has said it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national-security grounds but not a ban on TikTok.TikTok and ByteDance sued in U.S. federal court in May, seeking to block the law signed by Biden.Both TikTok and ByteDance declined to comment. More

Albanese this week said he told Trump on the call that the United States has a trade surplus with Australia and it was in Washington’s interest to “trade fairly” with its ally.Under the first Trump presidency, Australia won an exemption from U.S. tariffs for its aluminium and steel exports.In remarks broadcast on Sky News on Sunday, Albanese described the call as a “very good beginning to our relationship”.It was a “positive phone call that we had. We spoke for 10 minutes, it was one of the first phone calls that he made,” the leader of Australia’s centre-left Labor government said, according to a transcript.Albanese’s call with Trump also covered security ties including the AUKUS deal, which will see Australia buy U.S. nuclear submarines next decade and develop a new class of nuclear powered submarines with the U.S. and Britain.Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said this month that the government was confident of its alliance with the United States, its biggest security partner.One potential issue for the government is the relationship between the incoming administration and Australia’s ambassador in Washington, former Labor Party prime minister Kevin Rudd, who previously made disparaging comments about Trump in his capacity as the head of a U.S.-based think tank.Albanese, asked if Rudd would stay in the role, said he was doing “a terrific job” and would remain.”He is Australia’s appointment and it says something about the importance of the United States that we have appointed a former prime minister,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., according to a transcript on Sunday. More