BUSINESS
Growing India clout prompts US, Europe to ignore PM Modi crackdown
The juxtaposition, intentional or not, marked a vivid demonstration of Modi’s success at leveraging India’s geopolitical position and economic promise to maintain good relations with the US and its allies even as his government becomes bolder in cracking down on dissent at home.
BUSINESS
Adani credit flashes warnings after group gorged on cheap debt
The conglomerate, with businesses stretching from ports to renewable energy, tapped international bond buyers for more than $8 billion in recent years, while also turning to global banks for at least as much in foreign-currency loans, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
BUSINESS
Poor, busy millennials are doing the midlife crisis differently
The Emerging Millennial Wealth Gap, a 2019 report from the nonpartisan think tank New America, shows that those born from 1981 to 1996 earn 20% less than baby boomers did at their age.
BUSINESS
Visiting Amsterdam now finds a city at a crossroads: Travel guide
During the pandemic, Amsterdam was able to see what the city looked like without tourists of this ilk, and it doesn’t want to go back. Some city officials have proposed a “discouragement” ad campaign for international visitors with plans to “go wild” in the city.
BUSINESS
PM Modi likely to retain wheat export curbs as elections loom
State reserves of wheat used to supply the food program for the poor have shrunk to the smallest for this time of year since 2017, which shows the premier has good reason to take no chances on the restrictions.
BUSINESS
Reddit sued by founder of meme stock driver WallStreetBets
Jaime Rogozinski claims that after he applied for a trademark for WALLSTREETBETS in March 2020, he was banned from moderating the forum he created in 2012.
BUSINESS
ASML Data Theft: Ex-employee stole info from repository for chip machines
The breach occurred in a repository that includes details of the lithography systems critical to producing some of the world’s most advanced chips, said people with knowledge of the situation.
BUSINESS
Goldman growth fund boosts bets on India as China interest cools
The New York-based bank is targeting to invest a quarter of its newly-raised $5.2 billion growth fund in the region, people familiar with the matter said, who asked not to be named discussing internal information.
BUSINESS
Mark Zuckerberg spends more on security despite ‘year of efficiency’
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is increasing its pretax spending on Zuckerberg’s personal security to $14 million in 2023, up from $10 million the last few years, according to a regulatory filing released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk nears world’s richest title again
The disclosure comes as Musk, 51, has narrowed the gap to Arnault to less than $1 billion amid signs of growing demand for Tesla’s electric vehicles.
BUSINESS
IEA boosts global oil demand forecast as China’s economy reopens
The agency raised global demand estimates by a hefty 500,000 barrels a day for the first quarter, and by just under half as much for the year as a whole. As a result, world consumption will climb by 2 million barrels a day this year to average 101.9 million a day, it said in a monthly report.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk says he may lead Twitter for almost another year
The billionaire executive embarked on a search for a new CEO for Twitter in December, a person familiar with the search said at the time.
BUSINESS
Mom-and-Pop investors keep faith in India despite Adani rout
Hanoz Mistri is among the small investors in India who believe the carnage that has wiped off about $130 billion from the value of Adani shares won’t damp the long-term prospects for the nation’s equities.
BUSINESS
Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta cuts debt by $2 billion amid funding woes
Vedanta Resources Ltd. has achieved half of its three-year planned reduction commitment of $4 billion in the first year, the London-based company said in an exchange filing. It will continue to deleverage from net debt of $7.7 billion in the next two financial years, it said.
BUSINESS
ESG gatekeeper MSCI readies a verdict on Adani companies
MSCI Inc. will release the results of a quarterly review for its ESG and climate indexes this week, the first since a short-seller attack on the Adani Group triggered a $100 billion selloff.
BUSINESS
Apple’s ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ to assess customer history
The Apple Pay Later service — announced last year but still in the testing phase — will evaluate borrowers based on their spending history and even which of the company’s devices they own.
BUSINESS
Airbnb clocks first profitable year on strong travel demand
The San Francisco-based home-sharing company expects sales of $1.75 billion to $1.82 billion in the three months ending in March, easily clearing analysts’ average projection of $1.68 billion.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk forced Algorithm change to help boost his tweets, platformer says
Before taking the company private in a $44 billion deal in October, the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer spoke of his desire to make it an even playing field and eliminate bias in the system.
BUSINESS
Diamond tycoon Jatin Mehta fails to halt banks’ $1 billion chase through UK courts
The UK’s high court on Tuesday rejected the Indian magnate’s request to halt legal proceedings initiated by liquidation firm Grant Thornton that’s backed by Standard Chartered Plc and its local Indian unit.
BUSINESS
Adani Group touts cash reserves in bid to calm investors
Adani Group’s gross debt stood at 2.26 trillion rupees ($27.3 billion) at the end of September, and that amount is forecast to remain steady through the end of March, according to the group’s release on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Fed officials float even higher rates after brisk inflation data
Several officials said Tuesday that interest rates may need to move to a higher level than anticipated to ensure inflation continues to ease.
BUSINESS
Bupa’s India JV Niva Bupa weighs stake sale at $2 billion valuation
Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd., a joint venture between the UK insurer and Indian private equity fund True North, is working with an adviser on the potential stake sale, the people said. The sale could raise as much as $100 million, they said.
BUSINESS
IBM sues former top Thai executive for return of $470,000 bonus
In a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in New York, the tech giant alleged its former Thailand general manager, Patama Chantaruck, breached her contract when she accepted a senior role with Accenture. IBM said Accenture was its largest competitor in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of consulting revenue.
BUSINESS
CPI will show whether stocks or bonds got it right
Amid the re-rating in the debt market, the S&P 500 has climbed almost 1.5% over that span.
