Author: Anadolu Agency

US technology giant Apple’s revenue and profits increased in the fiscal 2025 second quarter ended March 29, according to a company statement Thursday. The company’s revenue increased by 5% year-on-year to $95.4 billion during the period. It generated a net profit of $24.8 billion in the quarter, up from $23.6 billion in the same period of 2024. Apple’s earnings per share also increased to $1.65 from $1.53 in the period. The company’s revenue and net profit exceeded market expectations. Meanwhile, iPhone sales rose nearly 2% year-on-year to $46.8 billion in the three-month period ending March 29. In the same period,…

The Bank of Japan kept its policy interest rate unchanged on Thursday at 0.5% in line with market expectations. The bank’s Economic Activity and Price Outlook report said Japan is expected to record moderate economic growth. It stressed that core inflation will lose momentum mainly due to the slowdown in the economy, and that with the increase in economic growth, medium- and long-term inflation expectations will rise. The increase in the core inflation is expected to accelerate gradually. The report said exports and production remained almost stable as a trend despite some front-loading due to the increase in US tariffs.

After almost eight months, 13 countries and 5,000 grueling kilometers, three Irish kayakers reached the Asiatic shore of Istanbul, completing an epic journey that began in Dublin. Johnny Coyne, Liam Cotter and Ryan Fallon came to the end of their cross-continental expedition, “Project Dublin to Istanbul,” last Friday – a feat of endurance aimed at raising funds for a therapeutic center in Ireland for children with cancer and boost awareness for humanitarian efforts in Gaza. They paddled up to the district of Üsküdar, which faces continental Europe from the other side of the Istanbul Strait, they were welcomed by their…

British adventurer Karl Bushby has arrived in Istanbul after walking nearly 50,000 kilometers (31,065 miles) over the last 26 years as part of a decades-long journey which began in Chile and aims to demonstrate that intercontinental travel can be completed entirely on foot. “I speak to people all the time who just tell me that Türkiye would be a fantastic country, so I never had any doubts that it wouldn’t be. It was ingrained in me that Türkiye was going to be what it was, and it has been great,” Bushby said. Bushby, 56, set out in 1998 to become…

Türkiye has rolled out sweeping new regulations in its health tourism sector, aiming to strengthen patient safety, service quality and the country’s international competitiveness. The updated regulation international health tourism and tourist health was published in the Official Gazette on Saturday. The Health Ministry said the reforms represent a critical step forward for the sector. Together with International Health Services Inc. (USHAS), a ministry subsidiary meant to promote the services offered in Türkiye, “we view these regulations as a critical step for the sector’s growth based on quality, safety, and sustainability,” said a ministry statement. Under the new rules, all…

Türkiye generated tourism revenues of $9.45 billion during the first quarter of 2025, up 5.6% on a yearly basis, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said on Wednesday. In this quarter, the share of food and beverage expenditures in total tourism income was 24.7%, while the share of international transportation expenditures was 15.9% and package tour expenditures 13.1%. The average expenditure per capita among visitors was $1,022, up 4.8% year-on-year in the January-March period; it was $99 per night. People visited Türkiye mostly for reasons of travel, entertainment, sports, and cultural activities, with 52.5% The number two purpose of visits was…

The US economy contracted 0.3% in the first quarter on a yearly basis, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday. “The decrease in the GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected an increase in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and a decrease in government spending,” it said. The movements were partly offset by increases in investment, consumer spending and exports, it added. The US GDP expanded 2.4% on a yearly basis in the last quarter of 2024, the agency noted. “Compared to the fourth quarter, the downturn in real GDP in the first quarter…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Italian companies Tuesday to see Türkiye as a gateway to Asia, the Middle East and Africa, just like Turkish firms see Italy as a gateway to Europe. Türkiye’s economy continues to grow despite conflict and wars in the region as well as the devastating earthquake of 2023, Erdoğan said during a business forum in Rome. Noting that the world is going through a period where greater protectionism and turning inward are being discussed in the economy, he said: “We are all following the mutual showdowns taking place over customs tariffs. We are striving to…

The economic situation for Germany’s poor has deteriorated rapidly, with inflation hitting the country’s most vulnerable populations hardest, according to a new report released Tuesday. The study by the German Parity Welfare Association found that 13 million people—nearly one in six Germans—are now living below the poverty line. The poverty rate climbed to 15.5% of the population in 2024, a 1.1 percentage point increase from the previous year. “The figures confirm what many people on low incomes have long felt in their everyday lives: the poor are getting poorer,” said Joachim Rock, Managing Director of the German Parity Welfare Association,…

The US trade balance posted a monthly deficit of $161.99 billion in March, reaching an all-time high, according to data released Tuesday. The deficit shot up 9.6%, advance data from the US Census Bureau data showed. The figure was up from $147.8 billion in February and exceeded a forecast of $142.8 billion. US exports climbed 1.2% in March on a monthly basis to $180.76 billion, while imports rose 5% to $342.75 billion. In March, wholesale inventories grew 0.5% to $908 billion. The country’s retail inventories fell 0.1% to $805.8 billion in March. US President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement of…