Lau Teck Kheng of Past Time Collectable CNBC SINGAPORE — For Singapore-based Lau Teck Kheng, his love of toys has now spawned into a thriving business.  Lau started selling vintage figurines with his friends on Sundays in 2005 while working a full-time job as a technician. ”For many of us born in the 1970s, we are not so rich to buy a lot of toys, but now, we are around the 40s mark, and have a bit of cash and so we try to buy back the memories,” he told CNBC. ”When the selling started to gain traction with customers,...

LISBON, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 07: LISBON, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 07: Emmett Shear, Twitch, on the Contentmakers 1 Stage Stage during day two of Web Summit 2018 at the Altice Arena on November 7, 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2018, more than 70,000 attendees from over 170 countries will fly to Lisbon for Web Summit, including over 1,500 startups, 1,200 speakers and 2,600 international journalists. (Photo by Eoin Noonan /Web Summit via Getty Images) Handout | Getty Images News | Getty Images It’s been just a few days since Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, was ousted in a shock...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the OpenAI DevDay event on November 06, 2023 in San Francisco, California.  Justin Sullivan | Getty Images OpenAI investors are pushing to bring back Sam Altman as CEO one day after he was ousted by the board, according to people familiar with the matter. Microsoft, Tiger Global and venture firm Thrive Capital are among several of OpenAI’s top backers that are part of an effort to reinstate Altman, said a source, who asked not to be named because discussions are confidential. Sequoia Capital has also been in contact with Altman, a person familiar with...

Sam Altman, Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI, and Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, speak during The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Tech Live Conference in Laguna Beach, California on October 17, 2023.  Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images OpenAI’s board of directors said Friday that Sam Altman will step down as CEO and will be replaced on an interim basis by technology chief Mira Murati. The company said it conducted ”a deliberative review process” and ”concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.” ”The board...

Volvo vehicles seen outside a Volvo dealership in Edmonton, on October 26, 2023, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images Volvo Cars shares tumbled as much as 14% on Friday morning after its parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group began a sale of around 100 million shares of the Swedish carmaker. At 9 a.m. London time, shares of Volvo were down by 10.31% after trimming some losses. Shares had fallen by as much as 14% earlier in the day and hit a record low, according to Reuters data. Geely said in a statement earlier on Friday that...

Exterior view of the Siemens Forum, part of the Siemens Headquarters, in Munich, Germany. Getty Images Siemens on Thursday posted a 10% rise in revenue growth for its fiscal fourth quarter to a record high of 21.4 billion euros ($23.2 billion), beating forecasts, but expects a slowdown in 2024. The German industrial conglomerate projects sales growth of 4-8% over the next 12 months, down from the 11% increase recorded for the 2023 fiscal year that ended in September, due primarily to a muted outlook for its industrial automation division. ”Digital Industries expects for fiscal 2024 comparable revenue development of 0%...

Still from Paramount’s ”Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Paramount After Sega’s blockbuster adaptation of its classic Sonic the Hedgehog gaming franchise on the big screen, the company suggested it wants to replicate that success with other hit video games in its arsenal. Speaking with CNBC at the Web Summit tech conference in Libson, Portugal, Tuesday, Sega Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi said that the company is thinking of bringing more of its lucrative intellectual property to other platforms, including movies and the gaming platform Roblox. ”Sonic is reviving,” Utsumi told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal, alluding to the success of the Sonic the...

The Wise logo displayed on a smartphone screen. Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images British fintech firm Wise nearly quadrupled pre-tax profits in its half-year results out on Tuesday, citing a boost from higher interest rates. Wise reported revenue of £498.2 million, up 25% year-on-year, in the half-year ended on Sept. 30, 2023. Including interest income, the company’s total income stood at £656 million for the period, up 58% year-on-year. Before tax, company profit came in at £194.3 million, up 280% year-on-year. Wise said that it benefited from higher interest rates, extending a trend from earlier...

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman attends the weekly government cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on May 23, 2023 in London, England. Leon Neal | Getty Images News | Getty Images LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday reportedly fired controversial Interior Minister Suella Braverman, as he begins a reshuffle of his top cabinet. Braverman drew widespread criticism last week after printing an op-ed in The Times newspaper that ignored guidance from Downing Street and accused London police of political bias in policing protests. The home secretary has long been a contentious figure. She resigned from the same...

Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images Like hurricanes, blizzards or wildfires, Taylor Swift is now prompting an airline to waive ticket-change fees. The popstar said she was postponing a show in Argentina’s capital scheduled for Friday until Sunday because of heavy rain, writing on X, the platform formerly called Twitter: ”due to the weather being so truly chaotic it would be unsafe to try and put on this concert.” The Chile account of LATAM Airlines, the largest carrier in South America, reached out to customers on X: ”#AttentionSwifties: we know your planes changed so starting today...