World Street | Xiaomi's EV foray; dollar on a breather; GM demands tax returns; Boeing's on a bolt hunt; and ravager robot

Singapore households are bracing for a sales tax hike that takes effect in the new year as the government shores up coffers ahead of an expected surge in social spending in the rapidly ageing city-state. The goods and services tax, which is levied on everything from groceries to diamond rings, will be increased by one percentage point to 9 percent. This year the sales tax was raised to 8 percent from 7 percent earlier, which had been unchanged for 15 years.

King dollar

The US dollar nursed steep losses on Thursday and was headed for a yearly decline after two years of strong gains amid expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve next year. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, fell to a fresh five-month low of 100.81. The index fell 0.5 percent on Wednesday and is on course for a 2.6 percent decline this year, snapping two straight years of strong gains.

Realty Bites

European property major Signa said that two key divisions are filing for insolvency. Signa Prime Selection filed for self-administrated restructuring in a Vienna court on Thursday, and Signa Development Selection will file on Friday. The announcements are the latest twist in the saga for Signa, the biggest casualty so far in Europe's real-estate crisis.

GM vs SF

General Motors has sued the city of San Francisco, seeking to recover more than $100 million in taxes, alleging that it was charged a higher tax bill than warranted because its Cruise self-driving car unit was improperly used to make the calculations. In the case filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, GM is seeking $108 million in back taxes over the course of seven years, as well as $13 million in penalties and interest.

Housing market

Mortgage rates in the US marched down to its lowest level since May, showing a hopeful sign for prospective buyers. As per Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average rate for benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.6 percent this week.

Missing bolts

Boeing is urging airlines to inspect 737 Max planes to look for a “possible loose bolt” in the rudder control system, the latest quality issue to affect the manufacturer’s bestselling jetliner. The company recommended the inspections after “an international operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance on a mechanism in the rudder-control linkage”, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Thursday.

Incognito mode

Google settled a class-action lawsuit on Thursday brought by users who alleged the search giant captured and tracked their data while in “Incognito” mode, a Chrome browser setting that is supposed to protect users’ privacy. The terms of the settlement were not made public, but the original complaint included demands between $100 and $1,000 per plaintiff, of which the suit said there could be millions.

AI gone wrong

A robot attacked a Tesla worker and left them bleeding on the automaker’s Austin factory floor two years ago, according to reports. It was one of a series of incidents at Giga Texas, a sprawling Austin factory that is key to Tesla’s goal of building a sub-$25,000 electric car.

War casualty

Fundraising by Israeli tech startups and companies plunged 56 percent this year, compared with the same period in 2022, as the sector grappled with political uncertainty around the judicial overhaul and the outbreak of the war with the Hamas terror group. The number of deals slumped 44 percent year-on-year, with 392 funding transactions recorded over the course of 2023, marking the lowest figure since at least 2015.