BUSINESS
Alibaba hikes buybacks to $25 billion as crackdown signals ease
The board of China’s e-commerce leader has approved the program, which will run for two years through to March 2024, the company said in a statement.
BUSINESS
Electric vehicles are out of reach for most US consumers
Despite all the hype for EVs, the dealer told me, many of his customers live paycheck to paycheck and bargain for every dollar of their monthly car payment. A $60,000 Tesla isn’t happening.
BUSINESS
Oil thirst Is forcing Joe Biden to pivot US back to Saudi Arabia
The softening U.S. attitude, described by a dozen people familiar with the debate, follows months of efforts by some senior administration officials to convince a wary president that ignoring the de facto Saudi leader was hampering U.S. foreign policy goals.
BUSINESS
Oil rallies as EU debates possible ban on Russian crude imports
West Texas Intermediate rallied toward $115 a barrel after surging 18% over the previous three days. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said that he expects leaders to discuss, but probably not yet approve, further sanctions against Russia when they meet in Brussels later this week.
STOCKS
Goldman Sachs to Offer Over-the-Counter Crypto Options Trading
The move marks the first such transaction by a major bank in the U.S., Galaxy said. It expects the trade to “open the door for other banks considering OTC as a conduit for trading digital assets,” Damien Vanderwilt, co-president and head of global markets at Galaxy, said.
WORLD
Boeing 737 in China Crash Has Good Safety Record, Unlike the Max
According to Airsafe.com, which tracks aviation safety, NG models had just 0.07 fatal crashes per million flights as of 2019. That puts it among a rare group that includes the Boeing 747-400 and 737’s main competitor, the Airbus SE A320 family.
BUSINESS
Credit Suisse vice chairman Severin Schwan to leave in board shakeup
Christian Gellerstad will become Vice Chairman and also take over as head of the compensation committee from Kai S. Nargolwala, who like Schwan won’t stand for reelection at the annual general meeting.
INDIA
India in talks with top wheat buyer Egypt to start shipments
India’s wheat exports climbed more than fourfold to about 6 million tons in the 10 months ended January 31, from 1.38 million tons a year earlier, according to the authority.
BUSINESS
Ronaldo takes a shot at cricket NFTs as he bets on blockchain startup
Venture capital firms B Capital Group and Insight Partners are leading FanCraze’s Series A round, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The fundraising for the blockchain startup, previously known as Faze Technologies, has additionally attracted South Korea’s Mirae Asset, the people said.
BUSINESS
Two-minute battery changes propel India’s shift to e-scooters
Sagyarani, a 38-year-old e-shuttle driver for MetroRide, pulls up to one of startup Sun Mobility’s 14 automated orange-and-black booths, taps her authentication key to open a vacant compartment, inserts a drained battery and pulls out a fully powered pack.
BUSINESS
Market gyrations ease with traders recalibrating Russia risk
The greenback was little changed against major peers as Asia trading began Monday, after its first weekly loss in a month, even as the Federal Reserve hiked rates. Japan’s yen was also steady after hitting a six-year low.
BUSINESS
After Oil’s Surge, Saudi Aramco hikes spending to boost output
The Saudi Arabian firm, like rivals such as BP Plc and Chevron Corp., has experienced a sharp turnaround from 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hammered energy demand and forced it to shelve several projects.
WORLD
Market gyrations ease with traders recalibrating Russia risk
All eyes will be on the dollar when markets reopen at 2 pm in New York (5 am Monday in Sydney) after the currency’s first weekly loss in a month, even as the US Federal Reserve hiked rates.
WORLD
India’s dependence on Russian weapons tethers PM Narendra Modi to Vladimir Putin
India operates over 250 Su-30 MKi Russian-made fighter jets, seven Kilo-class submarines and more than 1,200 Russian-made T-90 tanks -- all of which are operational for another decade, said people familiar with the situation.
WORLD
Europe’s workers wary of asking for pay raises despite inflation
The poll showed just one-in-five workers in Spain, and one-in-four in Germany, plan to ask for a salary bump. In the U.K., the number is 30%. That compares with 40% in the U.S. and more than 70% in Indonesia, India and the United Arab Emirates.
BUSINESS
Torrid stock rally springs from exhaustion among institutions
It’s a contrarian view, premised on logic that floors are found when sellers get exhausted, that gained adherents this week as the S&P 500 staged its biggest rally in two years just as the Federal Reserve threatened to raise interest rates as many as 10 times through 2023.
BUSINESS
Blackstone plans fund for people with millions not billions
The fund would potentially offer multimillionaires exposure to a swath of assets unavailable on public markets. In contrast with the usual practice of locking up institutional investors’ money for years, customers would have periodic opportunities to withdraw, according to people with familiar of the matter.
BUSINESS
Aggressive rate hikes risk cracking US economy, Bill Gross tells FT
Gross, known in the investment world as the Bond King, has been a critic of low interest rates, saying they’ve discouraged saving and contributed to the craze around meme stocks and NFTs.
WORLD
COVID-19 update | China says vaccine makers upgraded shots to fight omicron
Widely-used inactivated shots in the country have been tweaked to fight up to three variants, including omicron and the preceding predominant delta strain.
BUSINESS
SoftBank-Backed Oyo said to weigh 50% smaller IPO as markets sag
Faced with headwinds including slumping stock markets, Oyo-operator Oravel Stays Ltd. could clip its Indian IPO from the nearly $1 billion initially sought to half that, the people said, declining to be identified discussing internal matters.
BUSINESS
This tropical island’s economy is being crushed by war in Ukraine
Hit by soaring oil import costs and a dip in tourism revenue, Sri Lanka is racing to avert a default amid dwindling foreign-exchange holdings. With inflation already at 15% -- the worst in Asia -- the conflict is only making it harder for the tropical island located off the southern tip of India.
BUSINESS
Bond traders stunned by a hawkish Fed are sounding growth alarms
After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and signaled hikes at all six remaining meetings this year, a section of the Treasury curve -- the gap between five- and 10-year yields -- inverted for the first time since March 2020. Meanwhile the flattening trend between two- and 10-year yields continued.
BUSINESS
Saudi Arabia’s oil-for-yuan bid won’t threaten the dollar
The yuan is the global reserve currency of the future — and it always will be
BUSINESS
Amazon stock split exposes absurdity of the Dow Jones index
The company’s move may stem in part from an effort to win access to a widely followed market gauge that uses a methodology from 1896.
