BUSINESS
Vedanta cut to selective default by S&P after debt extension
The junk-rated miner said last week its bondholders approved the changes after months of talks to tackle more than $3 billion of bonds maturing in 2024 and 2025. Under the deal, the company will pay $779 million upfront, with the remaining principal extended by as much as four years.
WORLD
China’s worst deflation streak in 14 years puts pressure on PBOC
The consumer price index slipped 0.3% in December from a year earlier, in line with economists’ expectations for a third straight month of declines.
WORLD
What the US-led airstrikes on Yemen likely mean for oil prices
The attack represents a major escalation of tensions in the Middle East that have been simmering since the Hamas attack on Israel in early October.
WORLD
China’s exports drop for first time since 2016 as demand cools
The country sold $3.38 trillion worth of goods to the rest of the world last year, a 4.6% drop from the record a year earlier.
WORLD
China’s consumer prices in longest streak of declines since 2009
China’s consumer price index slipped 0.3%, the national statistics bureau said in a statement Friday, the longest streak of declines since October 2009. Economists expected a 0.4% drop.
WORLD
China seen cutting rate, boosting cash to support economy
The People’s Bank of China is expected to lower the rate on its one-year policy loans — called the medium-term lending facility — by 10 basis points to 2.4%, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 15 economists. That would be the first trim to the rate since a surprise 15-basis-point reduction last August.
WORLD
NASA says there’s no evidence of drug use at Elon Musk’s SpaceX
Questions about Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s compliance with those requirements have arisen after a Jan. 6 report in The Wall Street Journal about Musk’s history of recreational drug use, including ketamine, LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms.
WORLD
US inflation accelerates in Dec, tempering case for fed to cut rates
The consumer price index increased 3.4% in the year through December, the most in three months according to government figures.
BUSINESS
Bitcoin volume jumps as us spot ETFs tied to token begin trading
Bitcoin’s price advanced as much as 3.8% to reach an intraday high of $47,705 on Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
WORLD
Davos World Economic Forum: Here’s where to eat and drink
The marquee attendees will not be making spontaneous reservations; they’ll be sitting at white-cloth-covered tables at restaurant takeovers and private events that were booked months ago.
TECHNOLOGY
CES highlights: Climate-centric future of consumer tech
WORLD
Elton John will auction millions in art and antiques from Atlanta home
Eight separate sales at Christie’s New York will feature around 900 lots estimated at more than $10 million total.
WORLD
Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Estonian capital amid tour of Baltic states
The Ukrainian president is being accompanied by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, according to a statement posted Thursday on social media platform X by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
BUSINESS
RBI’s Shaktikanta Das warns against ‘Algorithm-based’ lending by banks
Model based, algorithm lending can “lead to a potential crisis,” Das said in a speech at an annual banking event hosted by Mint newspaper in Mumbai on Thursday. Banks and non-bank financial companies “must appraise robustness of models used for lending,” he said.
WORLD
Singapore, Malaysia weigh passport-free travel to boost commerce
The pact to establish the area — where companies operate with little regulation or government interference — in Malaysia’s southern Johor state will boost business activity and improve connectivity, according to a joint statement.
WORLD
These are the world’s most powerful passports in 2024
For the past five years Singapore and Japan have boasted the world’s most powerful travel documents, granting their citizens access to more countries without a prior visa than anyone else. This year, however, things have changed.
WORLD
Google lays off hundreds in hardware, voice assistant teams
Among the affected workers are those working on the voice-based Google Assistant and at the augmented reality hardware team. Workers in the company’s central engineering organization were also hit by the cuts, the company said.
WORLD
Cathie Wood says Gensler ‘denigrated’ crypto with his statement
Gensler, who has been open about his dislike for crypto, reiterated in a statement on Wednesday that the agency does not endorse digital assets.
WORLD
China is fast losing its place as must-have in global portfolios
An analysis of filings by 14 US pension funds with investments in Chinese stocks show most of them have reduced their holdings since 2020.
WORLD
Xi Jinping elevates China’s ties with record number of nations to counter US
The geopolitical benefits are on display this week with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s first state visit to China, breaking convention with previous Maldivian leaders and handing Xi a victory over regional rival India.
BUSINESS
Amazon laying off hundreds in Prime Video, Studios in latest cuts
Mike Hopkins, who runs the streaming video and studios division, which includes the MGM unit the company acquired last year, announced the cuts in an email to employees
BUSINESS
GQG’s initial bets in Adani Group soar to $4.3 billion in value
The value of GQG Partners’ investments in Adani stood at more than $7 billion at the end of November
BUSINESS
Fake news danger becomes top Davos worry in year of elections
Widespread use of misinformation and disinformation may undermine the legitimacy of newly elected governments, fuel violent protests and potentially even terrorism, according to the WEF.
BUSINESS
ICICI Bank ends Axis’ 16-year run as rupee bond market king
India’s second-largest lender by market value managed 980.3 billion rupees ($11.8 billion) of offerings in 2023, including self-led transactions.
