BUSINESS
Elon Musk brings Tesla’s China chief to Texas to run gigafactory
Representatives at Tesla in the US and China didn’t respond to requests for comment. Zhu wasn’t immediately able to be contacted. Musk also didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
BUSINESS
US senators seek SBF’s testimony at December 14 hearing on FTX
Brown, who is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said he and Toomey are prepared to issue a subpoena if the disgraced crypto founder doesn’t choose to appear voluntarily.
BUSINESS
Power giant NTPC will turn to nuclear in climate goal chase
The state-run company aims to install 20 to 30 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2040, according to a person familiar with the plans, who requested anonymity to discuss the private proposals and said the target remains tentative. India currently has 22 operational reactors with about 6.8 gigawatts of capacity.
BUSINESS
Masayoshi Son quietly ups SoftBank stake to 34%, edging toward buyout
The billionaire now owns more than a third of the company he founded, after aggressive buybacks in the last two months reduced SoftBank’s outstanding stock by almost 90 million.
BUSINESS
Hong Kong stocks rebound on report city may relax Covid rules
The Hang Seng Index rose as much as 2.8%, partly erasing Wednesday’s selloff, while a separate gauge of Chinese stocks trading in the city advanced more than 3%.
COMMODITIES
Oil edges higher after four-day retreat as traders look to China
Crude has weakened this month, shedding all of the year’s gains, as central banks tighten monetary policy and the macroeconomic outlook sours
BUSINESS
Import curb proposed on private jets, helicopters to plug deficit
Any import of planes weighing more than 15,000 kilograms (33,100 pounds) unladen as well as turbo jets are also “non-essential” and shouldn’t be brought in from abroad as much as is done now, the letter dated Dec. 6 stated.
STARTUP
Byju’s seeks easier terms on $1.2-billion loan as it slips deeper into red
India's most valuable startup, valued at $22 billion, has appointed an adviser to discuss tweaks in covenants of the term loan B with creditors
BUSINESS
Key iPhone supplier expects orders to drop on weak tech demand
“Judging by handset availability in stores, I see a downward revision happening,” Murata President Norio Nakajima said in an interview. “I hope that it won’t be too deep.”
BUSINESS
Xi Jinping gets Saudi red carpet as Middle East looks past US
Xi will visit Saudi Arabia for several days starting Wednesday, during which he will take part in a regional summit with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Arab leaders, the kingdom’s SPA state news agency said, promising agreements worth some $30 billion.
BUSINESS
ChatGPT could soon be the better way to Google
Google works by crawling billions of web pages, indexing that content and then ranking it in order of the most relevant answers. It then spits out a list of links to click through.
BUSINESS
China considers GDP target of about 5% as focus shifts to growth
Beijing is adopting a more pro-growth stance now after months of economic turmoil triggered by record Covid outbreaks and a property market crisis.
BUSINESS
China eases Covid restrictions in major shift in virus policy
The 10 new measures include accelerating vaccination among the elderly and forbidding local officials to designate large areas, like entire housing compounds, as high-risk.
BUSINESS
China to ease quarantine, unnecessary testing in new Covid moves
In one of the key changes to be announced this week, low-risk patients who test positive will be allowed to quarantine at home instead of being sent to an isolation facility, the people said, asking not to be named because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. PCR testing will also be dialed back except for high-risk groups, they said.
BUSINESS
Donald Trump companies convicted in NY criminal tax fraud trial
It is the first time a Trump business has been convicted of criminal conduct and comes as the former president is running for a second term.
BUSINESS
Oil plummets, erasing all 2022 gains as traders flee market
West Texas Intermediate settled near $74 on Tuesday, erasing all of this year’s gains. The slump comes against a backdrop of ever-dwindling liquidity in the oil market: Brent open interest is at the lowest since 2015, as traders strip their positions in the final month of the year.
BUSINESS
India holds up export of 27,000 Vivo phones in clash with China
The shipment is worth nearly $15 million, according to one of the people. The people declined to be named as the matter is not public.
BUSINESS
Jet Airways revival hits new snag as banks push back on funding
Banks, led by SBI, say Jet Airways’ new buyers — Dubai-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch, chairman of London-based Kalrock Capital Management Ltd. — should pay an additional Rs 250 crore ($30.1 million) into the retirement kitty, the people said
BUSINESS
US, EU weigh climate-based tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum
The move would mark a novel approach, as the US and EU would seek to use tariffs -- usually employed in trade disputes -- to further their climate agenda. US aluminum and steel producers climbed in extended trading.
BUSINESS
The year’s big Yen short set for a dramatic U-Turn in 2023
The bullishness is a marked change in tune from September when hedge funds couldn’t get enough of shorting the yen -- a high profile casualty of the BOJ’s ultra-dovish monetary policy.
BUSINESS
Startup CEO fired for LSD use claims discrimination in lawsuit
Justin Zhu, who was fired from Iterable Inc. last year after disagreements with his investors, claims in a complaint filed in state court in San Francisco that the company's stated reason for firing him, that he violated company policy by using an illegal drug, was "pretextual and a subterfuge."
BUSINESS
Cooling prices give RBI space to slow interest-rate hikes
After 190 basis points of rate increases this year, including three half-point moves, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Shaktikanta Das has more than one reason to switch to smaller increments: inflation is coming off a high and headwinds to economic growth are increasing.
BUSINESS
Trade ministry seeks to cut gold tariff to curb smuggling
The world’s second-largest consumer of the precious metal, almost all of which is purchased from abroad, has asked the Finance Ministry to consider reducing the tariff to about 10% from 12.5%, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private.
BUSINESS
Intel says it’s on course to regain chip production leadership
“We’re completely on track,” Intel Vice President Ann Kelleher, the head of technology development, said Monday in a press briefing in San Francisco. “We do quarterly milestones, and according to those milestones we’re ahead or on track.”
