WORLD
Oil extends gains as China reopening vies with slowdown concerns
West Texas Intermediate futures climbed toward $76 a barrel after closing 1.2% higher on Monday. China’s efforts to revive its economy by removing harsh virus curbs is spurring hopes of higher energy consumption in the long term, despite a surge in cases clouding the near-term outlook.
BUSINESS
Binance US to buy bankrupt Voyager Digital's assets for $1 billion
Voyager selected Binance.US as the highest and best bidder after reviewing options, the company said in a statement Monday.
BUSINESS
COP15 adopts biodiversity plan to protect 30% of land and water by 2030
Rich nations committed to pay an estimated $30 billion a year by 2030 to poorer nations through a new biodiversity fund that will be created under the Global Environment Facility, a 30-year-old organization that supports environmental work.
BUSINESS
John Paulson seeks to shut down wife’s suit alleging hidden billions
Both Paulsons appeared in a cramped Manhattan courtroom Thursday morning for scheduled arguments on his motion to dismiss her case.
BUSINESS
HDFC Bank targets issuing one million credit cards a month
The bank wants to double the current pace of half a million new credit card issuances every month
ECONOMY
India’s economic activity looks set to slow as resilience wanes
Although a dial measuring so-called animal spirits showed activity was steady for a fifth straight month in November, the needle was just one bad data point away from swinging to the left. Exports, a key growth lever in the past year, was among three of eight metrics that performed poorly
TRENDS
What it’s really like in Qatar for FIFA World Cup 2022
On Sunday, the month-long tournament will conclude with either Argentina’s Lionel Messi hoisting the World Cup trophy for the first time or with France becoming only the third country to win consecutive championships.
BUSINESS
After this year’s IPO slump, bankers are wary of 2023 relief
Just $207 billion have been raised this year from listings — 68% down versus last year — as a surge in flotations in China and the Middle East failed to make up for a frozen US market.
CARS
Tiny Cars, Big Opportunity
They’re significantly smaller and lighter than traditional automobiles, and most are slower. Some are capped at 20 miles per hour; a few can hit 70. But they are more stable and substantial than battery-powered bikes, scooters or mopeds, with three or four wheels and usually some kind of shell to protect occupants from weather
MARKETS
Stock strategists predict Asia market rally after a terrible 2022
Although none of the survey participants see Asian stocks dropping next year, there was a wide dispersion in forecasts — from flat returns to a 15 percent jump — underscoring caution over global recession risks and a rocky China reopening
POLITICS
Imran Khan to dissolve two assemblies on December 23 to push for polls
The government will have to hold elections for the provincial assemblies in 90 days and Khan’s party wants to secure a two-thirds majority in the provinces for five years
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Binance, alone at the top after FTX, stirs ‘too big to fail’ crypto worry
The death spiral of Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire bolsters the dominance of Changpeng Zhao’s exchange and amps up potential dangers for the entire sector.
BUSINESS
How a cocaine-smuggling cartel infiltrated the world’s biggest shipping company
The crime was so big and brazen that authorities made the exceptional decision to seize not just the cocaine but also the Gayane itself, a 1,000-foot-long ship worth more than $100 million.
BUSINESS
Reviewing 2022: The year London lost its markets crown
In total, about £550 billion ($672 billion) of market value has been shaved off indexes tracking locally-exposed shares and bonds
COMPANIES
Musk seeks new Twitter investors at same price he paid
The managing director of the billionaire’s family office, Jared Birchall, has been reaching out to potential backers this week, news site Semafor reported
BUSINESS
Goldman Sachs considers eliminating as many as 4,000 jobs
Top managers have been asked to identify potential cost-reduction targets, and no final job-cut number has been determined, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing internal deliberations.
BUSINESS
Surprise corporate actions by Indian tech darlings spur scrutiny
First it was FSN E-Commerce Ventures Pvt., the owner of beauty e-retailer Nykaa, which announced a bonus share issue to coincide with the expiry of an IPO lockup on key investors in November that risked extending the stock’s slump.
BUSINESS
Dubai’s Kanoo group sees opportunities to invest in India, China
The family-owned company, with interests spanning shipping, real estate, financial services and energy, sees potential in sectors including artificial intelligence and clean energy, Kanoo said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Friday. “Each country has a different industry that they are really good at.”
BUSINESS
India is turning toward free trade, for some
The good news is that the government may be undergoing a change of heart ahead of next year’s budget — or, at least, it may not be quite as willing to revel in protectionism as before. The bad news for US companies is that their own government’s inward turn may still hold them back in India.
BUSINESS
The Fed’s soft landing might still be possible
The central bank’s new projections show slightly less growth, more unemployment and higher inflation in 2023 than its last announcement suggested, together with a predicted “terminal rate” — or the point where policymakers expect to stop hiking — at just over 5%, slightly above its previous estimate.
BUSINESS
Boeing closes in on large 737 max order from Tata’s Air India
The final deal is expected to include 40 to 50 Max aircraft that were built for Chinese carriers but never delivered due to an extended grounding of the US jet and heightened trade tensions, some of the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.
BUSINESS
Stocks bulls losing support as $4 trillion of options set to expire
An estimated $4 trillion of options is expected to expire Friday in a monthly event that in tends to add turbulence to the trading day.
BUSINESS
Listings of small, medium companies to keep primary market abuzz in 2023
Several of the country’s major startups shed billions of dollars in value since their listing as concerns over high valuations and rising interest rates globally dented demand for technology stocks.
BUSINESS
China’s Covid death toll could near 1 million, study shows
In the absence of a mass vaccination booster campaign and other measures to reduce the impact of the virus, some 684 people per million would die in a nationwide reopening, according to the report, which was co-authored by Gabriel Leung, the former dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong.
