HANOI — Vietnam’s parliament approved laws on data protection and electricity, as well as a resolution supporting a $67-billion high-speed rail project on Saturday, the last day of its twice-yearly regular session.

The railway, Vietnam’s most ambitious infrastructure project, is to run from the capital Hanoi to the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City. The 1,541-kilometer (958-mile) project is expected to be completed in 2035.

The data law tightens requirements on personal data processing and data transfer overseas, a move that groups representing US tech firms have said could hamper their operations in the Southeast Asian country.

The law will also facilitate the government’s access to data when authorities in the Communist-run nation consider that necessary.

The electricity law is expected to remove some hurdles for investment in energy projects in Vietnam and speed up approvals of so-called direct power purchase agreements, which allow manufacturers to negotiate electricity supplies directly with providers of renewable energy.

The measure aims to create a more comprehensive legal system for the energy sector, which is now subject to multiple, separate regulations.

Additional legislative texts will need to be approved to complete the regulatory framework for specific energy sectors, such as offshore, wind and nuclear power. — Reuters

LONDON — Britain’s Institute of Directors (IoD) said on Sunday that optimism among its members had fallen to the lowest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, following tax rises in Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ first budget on Oct. 30.

Investment plans and employment intentions were the weakest since May 2020 last month, while a gauge of business leaders’ optimism sank to its lowest since April 2020 at -65, down from -52 in October.

“As businesses continue to absorb the consequences of the Budget for their business plans, confidence has continued to plummet,” IoD Chief Economist Anna Leach said.

“Far from fixing the foundations, the Budget has undermined them, damaging the private sector’s ability to invest in their businesses and their workforces,” she added.

The IoD report adds to a chorus of complaints by businesses since the budget and other signs of an economic slowdown.

Last week Reeves promised the Confederation of British Industry that she would not be “coming back with more borrowing or more taxes” at future budgets.

Reeves announced 40 billion pounds ($51 billion) of tax rises at the budget, including a 25 billion pound increase in employers’ annual social security contributions.

Labor had only pointed to around 8 billion pounds of tax rises before the election and Reeves blamed the extra increases in large part on what she said was an unexpectedly poor fiscal legacy left by the previous Conservative government.

A planned tightening of employment laws was also likely to increase costs for employers, the IoD said.

The IoD survey took place between Nov. 15 and Nov. 27 and was based on 601 responses, mostly from small businesses. — Reuters

LONDON — Kate, Britain’s Princess of Wales, says love is the greatest gift people can give each other in a message to guests who will attend her annual Christmas carol service next week at London’s Westminster Abbey.

The Dec. 6 carol concert, the fourth she has hosted, marks Kate’s most prominent return to royal engagements since she underwent a course of preventative chemotherapy for cancer.

In a letter to the 1,600 invited guests, Kate, 42, the wife of heir to the throne Prince William, returned to themes of love and the need for empathy about which she has spoken in previous very personal statements and video updates on her health.

Christmas, her letter said, was not only a time for celebration, but also for reflection and relief from the pressures of daily life.

She said the Christmas story reflected “our own vulnerabilities,” and how much people needed each other despite their differences.

“Above all else it encourages us to turn to love, not fear,” she wrote. “It is this love which is the greatest gift we can receive. Not just at Christmas, but every day of our lives,” she said.

William, who earlier this month said the year had been “brutal” for the royal family with Kate’s treatment coming in the wake of his father King Charles’ own cancer diagnosis, will give a reading at the service.

Six-time Olympic track cycling champion Chris Hoy, who revealed he had terminal cancer himself in October, will light a candle.

The “Together At Christmas” service will be broadcast on Britain’s ITV on Christmas Eve. — Reuters

BEIJING – Casual wear giant Uniqlo is facing calls for a consumer boycott in China after the CEO of the clothing company’s owner said it does not source cotton from China’s Xinjiang, which has faced allegations of forced labour in recent years.

Fast Retailing CEO Tadashi Yanai made the comment during an interview in Tokyo with the British Broadcasting Corporation that was published on Thursday.

Two hashtags on Yanai’s comment went viral on Friday on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where several users slammed the company and vowed to never purchase its products.

“With this kind of attitude from Uniqlo, and their founder being so arrogant, they’re probably betting that mainland consumers will forget about it in a few days and continue to buy. So, can we stand firm this time?” one user wrote.

Fast Retailing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China is Fast Retailing’s biggest overseas market and it has more than 900 stores on the mainland. Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounts for more than 20% of the company’s revenue.

The issue of sourcing from Xinjiang has been a geopolitical minefield for foreign firms with a large presence in China.

This was demonstrated by the consumer boycott Uniqlo’s rival, H&M, faced in China in 2021 for a statement posted on its website where it expressed concern about the allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang and said it would no longer source cotton from there.

H&M saw its stores removed from major e-commerce platforms and its store locations moved from map apps in China as it bore the brunt of consumer anger at companies refusing to source cotton from Xinjiang, although other Western brands including Nike, Puma, Burberry and more were also caught up in the controversy. — Reuters

NEW YORK – From Taylor Swift’s new Eras Tour book priced at $39.99 and sold only at Target, to a $50.99 Jessica Simpson puffer coat at Walmart, marked down from $84.99, major U.S.

retailers stocked their shelves for Black Friday with exclusive products and lots of general merchandise steeply discounted.

As retailers prepare to open as early as 5 a.m. following the American Thanksgiving holiday, they are hoping more people seek to close out their shopping lists despite a shorter timeframe.

Walmart, which operates 4,700 U.S. stores, opens its doors at 6 a.m., as does Target TGT.N, with 1,963 stores. Walmart this year is offering a variety of deals on Samsung TVs, Dyson vacuum cleaners, Lego and Hot Wheels toys, Levi’s jeans, and air fryers, though its pre-Black Friday discounts began November 11.

Target cut prices by $100 on products such as a 75-inch Westinghouse TV and Nintendo Switch gaming console, as well as more than 50% off Barbie dolls, Keurig coffee machines and KitchenAid mixers, deals which started on Thanksgiving and run through Saturday. Target is selling exclusive “Wicked”-related products, including “Wicked” soundtrack CDs for $39.99 with an offer of buy two get one free for Target Circle members.

The National Retail Federation, a U.S. retail trade group, expects roughly 85.6 million shoppers to visit stores this year, up from 76 million on Black Friday last year. Shoppers have only 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas; last year, they had a more leisurely 31 days.

Adding pressure for retailers is inflation-fatigued shoppers’ reluctance to splurge unless they get good deals.

While most U.S. retailers are closed on Thanksgiving, some like J.C. Penney will open as early as 5 a.m. on Friday to give shoppers a holiday shopping head start. Best Buy, Lowe’s and Home Depot will open doors at 6 a.m., with Costco, TJ Maxx, Ikea and Sephora opening between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., according to local store postings.

“With fewer days to shop, consumers are more likely to make spontaneous purchases, contributing to retail growth during the holiday season,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at Circana.

Black Friday marks the start of the Christmas shopping season and is known for crowds lining up at big-box stores for “doorbuster” discounts in early hours after American Thanksgiving. But it has lost its luster as more Americans shop online, a trend that accelerated by the pandemic.

Major brick-and-mortar retail chains plan to showcase interactive products and experiences, including Ray-Ban augmented-reality glasses, extra-extra-large TVs at electronics retailer Best Buy, and spa services at U.S. department store chain Nordstrom Inc.

Retailers in Europe and elsewhere are also trying to cash in on the hoopla. In Britain, department store John Lewis is offering reductions of up to 300 pounds ($381) on Samsung TVs, 210 pounds off Nespresso coffee machines and up to 50 pounds off Apple merchandise until Nov. 30, while electronics chain Currys is offering 171 pounds off Shark cordless vacuum cleaner. — Reuters

LONDON – Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Thursday to reduce the number of migrants coming to Britain, saying he would produce a plan for reform of the points-based immigration system that would put the onus on businesses to train British workers.

Hours after official data showed net migration had reached a record of more than 900,000 in the year to June 2023, much higher than original estimates, Starmer called a news conference to spell out his determination to reduce the numbers, which he blamed on the policies of the former Conservative government.

High levels of immigration have become a hot-button issue in Britain. Voters worry that strained public services cannot cope with such large influxes of people, while sectors such as healthcare say they cannot function without foreign workers.

“A failure on this scale isn’t just bad luck… No, this is a different order of failure… Brexit was used for that purpose to turn Britain into a ‘one nation experiment’ in open borders,” Starmer told the press conference, referring to Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union.

“Where we find clear evidence of sectors that are over- reliant on immigration, we will reform the Points Based System and make sure that applications for the relevant visa routes, whether it’s the skilled worker route or the shortage occupation list, will now come with new expectations on training people here in our country.”

If businesses do not “play ball”, he said, they will be banned from hiring overseas workers.

Introduced in 2021 by the Conservatives following Brexit, the points-based immigration system assigns points for specific skills and qualifications and only grant visas to those who have enough points.

SURGE IN NUMBERS

Earlier on Thursday, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed net migration of 906,000 for the year to the end of June 2023, revised up from a previous estimate of 740,000.

Numbers did fall 20% to 728,000 for the year to the end of June 2024, the ONS said, driven by declining numbers of dependents coming with those on study visas after the previous Conservative government changed the rules.

The big jump in the 2023 figure was attributed to more available data, more information on Ukraine visas and improvements to how it estimates migration, the ONS said.

High levels of legal migration in 2016 were one of the driving forces behind Britain’s vote to leave the EU.

While post-Brexit changes to visas saw a sharp drop in the number of European Union migrants to Britain, new work visa rules led to a surge in immigration from India, Nigeria and Pakistan, often to fill health and social care vacancies. — Reuters