MARKETS
One bank folds, another wobbles and Wall Street asks if it’s a crisis
At Silvergate, the problem was a run on deposits that began last year, when clients — cryptocurrency ventures — withdrew cash to weather the collapse of the FTX digital-asset exchange.
STOCKS
Thiel Fund, venture firms advise companies to pull money from SVB
SVB’s shares sank to their lowest close since September 2016 on Thursday. Becker’s call was reported earlier by the Information. The shares continued to tumble in late trading, falling as much as 30%.
BUSINESS
Vodafone, three putting final touches on UK tie-up
A potential deal between Vodafone and Three UK has been talked about for years, and Vodafone previously teamed up with CK Hutchison in other markets such as Australia.
BUSINESS
MSCI China Index erases 2023 gains as NPC underwhelms
Mixed economic data has dented optimism over an economic recovery in recent weeks after the nation’s reopening from Covid Zero curbs sparked a sharp three-month surge through January.
INDIA
An LGBTQ revolution in India sets the pace for global change
Proceedings in India, which are scheduled to begin on Monday, could set a precedent around the world. A judgement for the plaintiffs would more than double the number of people globally with marriage equality rights
WORLD
US, India plan to boost chips collaboration, Joe Biden’s commerce chief says
The memorandum of understanding is focused on information-sharing and policy dialogue, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters Thursday.
BUSINESS
Longer maturity debt to be part of Rs 25,000 crore green bonds plan
There is a demand for papers of 30- to 40-year tenor, particularly from insurance companies, to fund projects with a longer gestation period, the people said, asking not to be identified as the government is yet to take a final call.
WORLD
Asia bond traders are calm despite the Fed-fuelled volatility
Relative to EM regions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Asian notes have displayed lower sensitivity to Treasury yield moves due to generally more robust fundamentals.
WORLD
Meituan’s billionaire co-founder joins China’s AI chatbot rush
Wang, who’s largely stayed out of the limelight in recent years, declared in a WeChat post he’ll join a Series A investment round for fellow Meituan co-founder Wang Huiwen’s AI startup.
WORLD
Mark Mobius says chip stocks are top bets amid US, China investments
Chipmakers are “the number one category we have in our portfolio,” Mobius said in a Thursday interview on Bloomberg Television.
BUSINESS
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority nears buying $500 million stake in India’s Lenskart, sources say
The Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund is finalizing an agreement to buy a mix of existing Lenskart shares and new equity, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is not public.
BUSINESS
Rolex, Patek Investment beats S&P gains over five years
The S&P 500 stock index averaged annual returns of 8% from August 2018 to January 2023 while a basket of pre-owned watch models from top Swiss brands grew at more than twice the pace, the report from Boston Consulting Group Inc. and secondary market dealer WatchBox said.
BUSINESS
Competition Commission squeezed by staff vacancies and workload
The Competition Commission of India, which has imposed million dollar penalties on Alphabet Inc.’s Google to Amazon.com Inc., is functioning with just two members — half the sanctioned strength and one short of quorum.
WORLD
Japan’s economy narrowly avoids a recession in fragile recovery
Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 0.1% in the fourth quarter from the previous period, revised figures from the Cabinet Office showed Thursday.
WORLD
Nomura cuts entertainment Budget as rising costs hurt profit
The firm decided to cut the spending plan by about 30% for the current fiscal year following weak earnings in the first half, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
WORLD
Recession risk looms large as bond markets price in steeper rate hikes globally
Just weeks ago, traders were expecting almost every developed-market central bank to cut benchmark rates within a year, the swaps market showed.
WORLD
DBS CEO Piyush Gupta’s total pay last year rises to $11.4 million
Piyush Gupta received a cash bonus of about S$5.8 million ($4.3 million) and a salary remuneration of S$1.5 million that contributed to an overall compensation of S$15.4 million for 2022, according to the bank’s annual report released on Thursday.
WORLD
Covid lab leak fight obscures the global rise of high-security biolabs
There are 69 so-called Biosafety Level 4, or BSL-4, facilities designed to study dangerous infectious pathogens in operation, under construction or planned worldwide, according to Global Biolabs, a tracking project run out of King’s College London and George Mason University in Virginia. About a decade ago, there were only 25.
BUSINESS
Sanjeev Gupta takes on father’s group in metals empire reshuffle
Ownership of the Simec Group will be transferred to his son from Parduman Gupta as he retires near the age of 80, according to a GFG spokesperson.
BUSINESS
More stock in Adani Group firms pledged to lenders, trustee says
SBICap Trustee said in a notice to exchanges that a further 0.99% shares in Adani Green Energy Ltd. were pledged “for the benefits of the lenders” of Adani Enterprises Ltd. An additional 0.76% shares in Adani Transmission Ltd. were also pledged to banks, the trustee said.
BUSINESS
Adani rout puts spotlight on billions flowing through Mauritius
The Hindenburg report which sent Adani stocks on a $153 billion downward spiral, said that entities controlled by Adani's brother, Vinod, or his associates used Mauritius as a conduit for money laundering and share-price manipulation.
BUSINESS
Apple to shake up international sales operations to make India its own region
The shift will mark the first time that India becomes its own sales region at Apple, which has seen demand surge in the country.
BUSINESS
Higher cap on power price to ensure factories keep humming
Unusually high temperatures for this time of year are fueling predictions that electricity demand might rise to a record this summer, overwhelming domestic coal supplies and transportation networks and resulting in a repeat of last year’s blackouts.
WORLD
Private debt shops are flexing their muscles in race for loan deals
In the race to win debt deals that fund leveraged buyouts, direct-lending firms are in discussions to deploy one of the more unusual tools of finance: allowing a company to pay interest by taking on additional debt.
