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[ad_1] London CNN  —  The British pound crashed to a record low last fall as investors rebelled against budget plans by former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Now, it’s enjoying a comeback. Sterling hit its highest level against the US dollar in 10 months on Tuesday, topping $1.25 for the first time since June 2022. The pound, which has advanced about 3.3% versus the greenback since the start of 2023, is the best-performing currency among developed economies this year. The UK currency has been boosted by indications the country’s economy is holding up better than expected. Activity is now thought to have expanded 0.1% in the final three months of last year, up from a previous estimate of no growth at all. Gross domestic product growth in January has been estimated at 0.3% after dropping 0.5% in December. This resilience is bolstering expectations the Bank of England will maintain ag...

[ad_1] Paris CNN  —  Impromptu protests broke out in Paris and across several French cities Thursday evening following a move by the government to force through reforms of the pension system that will push up the retirement age from 62 to 64. While the proposed reforms of France’s cherished pensions system were already controversial, it was the manner in which the bill was approved – sidestepping a vote in the country’s lower house, where President Emmanuel Macron’s party crucially lacks an outright majority – that arguably sparked the most anger. And that fury is widespread in France. Figures from pollster IFOP show that 83% of young adults (18-24) and 78% of those aged over 35 found the government’s manner of passing the bill “unjustified.” Even among pro-Macron voters – those who voted for him in the first round of last year’s presidential election, before a runoff with hi...

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: This is excerpted from a story that originally ran on March 22, 2023. New York CNN  —  Banking has been top of mind for many people in the wake of some surprise bank failures and moves by US regulators to boost confidence in the financial system. But the Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to increase its key interest rate for the ninth time since March last year brought welcome news for savers seeking higher yields on their money. “Returns on savings accounts and CDs are the best in 15 years,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com. Higher rates mean your most liquid savings — those set aside for emergency expenses or short-term goals like a vacation fund or even a down payment that you’ll need in the next 12 months — can finally earn some money for you after years of earning practically nothing. Unless, that is, yo...

[ad_1] Hong Kong CNN  —  China will fully reopen borders with its special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao next week, in what is expected to be a major boost for the economies of the two cities. From Monday, travelers entering mainland China from Hong Kong or Macao will no longer need to provide proof of negative Covid tests, as long as they have not traveled abroad in the previous week, the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said in a Friday statement . Daily quotas on the number of travelers will also be scrapped. The resumption of normal travel is expected to provide much support to the battered economies of the two cities. Hong Kong is a major international financial center, and, before the pandemic, Macao was the world’s casino capital. Hong Kong’s economy contracted last year, according to preliminary government data , shrinking by 3.5% com...

[ad_1] CNN  —  The seventh episode of Netflix’s “Full Swing” is named “Golf is Hard.” It could easily serve as the title for the series itself. Taken literally, it could refer to how golf’s latest fly-on-the-wall show, documenting the 2022 PGA Tour season, shows just how difficult it is to win even a single tournament, let alone multiple or a major. In the case of Matt Fitzpatrick, US Open triumph – his first PGA Tour win no less – proved the ultimate payoff to a dogged commitment to self-improvement, the reward for countless hours spent pouring over data and spreadsheets. Dubbed the hardest working player in the men’s game, the 28-year-old Englishman is shown to have logged details of his shots since the age of 15. Trawling through a plastic box stacked with yardage books, Fitzpatrick estimates he has recorded over 7,000 swings from both competitions and the driving range....

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations opening, inspiration for future adventures, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments. CNN  —  Have you ever dreamed of giving it all up, leaving it all behind and hitting the road to escape all your responsibilities? It sounds good, doesn’t it? But it also sounds expensive. Or at least, it did sound expensive until now – because now a cruise company is launching a three-year, 130,000-mile, escape-your-daily-life cruise for a relatively affordable $30,000 per person per year. Life at Sea Cruises has opened bookings for its three-year voyage on the MV Gemini, which sets sail from Istanbul on November 1. Yes, November 1, 2023 – so you have eight months to get your passport, vaccinations and remote working abi...