BUSINESS
US scientists achieve fusion energy breakthrough, FT says
The federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California used a process called inertial confinement fusion to achieve a net energy gain in a fusion reaction in the past two weeks, the FT said Sunday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
BUSINESS
Coffee consumption seen rising only modestly in next few years
“We are more conservative now for a short-term projection,” Nogueira said during a conference in Hanoi held by the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association, referring to all the events the world is facing, including high inflation in Europe and the war in Ukraine.
BUSINESS
Hot streak of foreign buyers for India bonds faces CPI hurdle
Global funds have poured a cumulative $465 million into Indian bonds over 13 straight days, the longest stretch since June 2017, on optimism that the US Federal Reserve and Reserve Bank of India may slow the pace of rate increases.
BUSINESS
Fed’s rates on hold message clashes with 2023 rate-cut bets
After the fastest tightening of monetary policy since the 1980s, the central bank looks set on Wednesday to increase its benchmark rate by 50 basis points in a downshift after four straight 75 basis-point moves to curb inflation.
ENVIRONMENT
We’re succeeding on climate. We’ll fail on biodiversity
While both nature and humanity benefit when we find less emissions-intensive ways to produce energy and material goods, biodiversity is often more of a zero-sum game.
MARKETS
Investors call time on FAANG stock dominance after Nasdaq’s rout
Growth has slowed or evaporated for Netflix and Meta, while the sheer size of Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet means they’re unlikely to provide the huge returns in the future that they did in the past.
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Bankman-Fried will testify at House hearing on FTX fallout
Bankman-Fried, who hasn’t been charged with any crimes, has denied trying to perpetrate a fraud, though he has owned up to grievous managerial errors at FTX.
MARKETS
World’s top money managers see global stocks recovering in 2023
Amid recent optimism that inflation has peaked — and that the Federal Reserve could soon start to change its tone — 71 percent of respondents in a Bloomberg News survey expect equities to rise, versus 19 percent forecasting declines
ECONOMY
The 24 hours of hikes that end year of fighting inflation
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday is set to raise its key rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4 percent to 4.5 percent. A day later, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are likely to follow with half-point moves.
BUSINESS
Tata’s Air India close to signing deal for 150 Boeing 737 max jets
Air India is likely to place a firm order for 50 737 Max jets with an option to acquire as many as 150, the newspaper reported. Tata formally took charge of debt-laden Air India earlier this year.
WORLD
From Mardi Gras to Burning Man, a year of wild human experiences
The world’s greatest festivals and expressions of freedom and joy are making a big collective comeback in 2023.
BUSINESS
England will reach Fifa final but lose to Argentina, economic model predicts
Joachim Klement, an investment analyst at Liberum Capital, stands by predictions he made in September, before the competition began, despite “sweating a lot” while watching Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in the group stages of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
ECONOMY
Britain's booming film industry has a growth lesson for Rishi Sunak
It’s part of a broader boom across Britain’s film industry that provides both a lesson and a warning for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government on how to stimulate growth
WORLD
PM Modi to skip annual summit with Putin over Ukraine nuke threats
The relationship between India and Russia remains strong but trumpeting the friendship at this point may not be beneficial for Modi, said a senior official with knowledge of the matter
INDIA
Vivo’s phones held by DRI over suspected violations released
The government agency passed the order to release the smartphones a day after Bloomberg News reported that the devices were being withheld for inspection. It wasn’t immediately clear if the revenue intelligence unit will be pressing charges against Vivo.
BUSINESS
Top money managers see double-digit stock gains in 2023
Amid recent optimism that inflation has peaked — and that the Federal Reserve could soon start to change its tone— 71% of respondents in a Bloomberg News survey expect equities to rise, versus 19% forecasting declines. For those seeing gains, the average response was a 10% return.
BUSINESS
AI-generated Anime selfies make Meitu app a rage in Japan
Hong Kong-based Meitu Inc. is up more than 50% over the past couple of weeks, in which time its app has reached the top of Apple Inc.’s free iPhone downloads chart and number 2 on Android’s Google Play in Japan, according to data.ai figures.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk says Twitter will tell users if they’ve been ‘shadowbanned’
The announcement followed a Twitter thread by journalist Bari Weiss, who has been granted access to company documents, saying that conservative commentators had their tweets downplayed by employees — a process known as “shadowbanning.”
BUSINESS
OpenAI Chatbot so good it can fool humans, even when it’s wrong
The bot has been asked to create cocktail recipes, compose lyrics and write a Gilligan’s Island script where the castaways deal with Covid. ChatGPT avoids some of the pitfalls of past chatbots — like racist or hateful language — and the excitement about this iteration of the technology is palpable.
BUSINESS
SpaceX’s first moon trip crew to include artists, DJ Steve Aoki
The unorthodox crew was announced in a video posted online Thursday by Maezawa, who said last year that he wanted to include “people from all kinds of backgrounds.”
BUSINESS
End of Covid zero threatens to overwhelm China with infections
The world’s most populous nation is rapidly abandoning the mass testing, lockdowns and centralized quarantine that defined the stringent, three year-old policy.
BUSINESS
SpaceX Rocket launches with rival OneWeb satellites on board
It’s the first of three planned missions the unlikely collaborators are set to perform over the coming months despite their separate efforts to build megaconstellations that will beam broadband Internet coverage to Earth.
BUSINESS
High valuations may slam the brakes on Indian equity rally in 2023
While India has been a standout market this year, with the NSE Nifty 50 Index up above 7%, compared to an 18% slump in global stocks, it remains the most expensive in Asia.
BUSINESS
Walmart’s payments startup PhonePe seeks to raise $1 billion
The all-equity round is expected to close in the next two weeks and may take PhonePe’s valuation close to $13 billion, including new capital invested.
