MARKETS
Asian stocks gain, bucking a rocky start to 2025
Shares in Australia and South Korea edged higher, as did US equity futures, after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both fell on Thursday.
WORLD
Elon Musk made $112 million mystery gift in final days of 2024
The gift, worth almost $112 million, was part of the billionaire’s 'year-end tax planning,' and went to 'certain charities,' according to a filing Tuesday.
WORLD
Tesla’s annual EV sales drop for first time in over a decade
Tesla faced a series of setbacks earlier in the year, including an arson attack at its Berlin factory, shipping diversions and an industry-wide slowdown in EV sales.
WORLD
US initial jobless claims fall to eight-month low to end 2024
More recent data have pointed to a labor market that is moderating but remains broadly solid.
BUSINESS
Rolex hikes watch prices by as much as 8% after gold surge
MARKETS
Chinese stocks tumble in worst start to a year since 2016
The CSI 300 Index closed down 2.9% on Thursday, its steepest drop on a year’s first day of trading since 2016. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid as much as 3.1%.
WORLD
PBOC boosts support for yuan after currency’s year-end tumble
The People’s Bank of China set the so-called fixing, which confines yuan’s trading onshore to a 2% range on either side, at 7.1879 per dollar on Thursday
WORLD
Elon Musk says Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas likely terrorism
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said a 2024 Cybertruck pulled up to the glass entrance doors of the Trump hotel and smoke then appeared from the vehicle before a large explosion.
MARKETS
Asia kicks off new year after ominous end to 2024
Shares in Sydney were little changed while futures showed Hong Kong’s benchmark may advance slightly
BUSINESS
Russia and Ukraine end five decades of gas transit to Europe
Both sides confirmed the halt on Wednesday after a key transit deal expired. The stoppage means a number of central European countries that have relied on the flows will be forced to source more expensive gas elsewhere, adding to pressure on supplies at a time when the region is depleting winter storage at the fastest pace in years.
BUSINESS
China’s factory activity expands again as economy stabilizes
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 50.1, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. While it indicates a slightly slower pace of growth than economists expected, the reading marked the longest streak of expansion since March last year.
BUSINESS
US Treasury says it was breached by Chinese-backed hacker
Treasury was notified on Dec. 8 by a third-party software provider, BeyondTrust Inc., that a hacker had gained access “to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users,” according to the letter.
BUSINESS
Rupee volatility surge puts RBI’s currency strategy in focus
The rupee’s one-month implied volatility versus the greenback rose to as much as 4.09% on Monday, the highest since August 2023. This marks a shift from the currency’s recent stability, which saw the volatility gauge hit a record low this August.
BUSINESS
S&P 500’s 2024 rally shocked forecasters expecting it to fizzle
Rather than lose steam, equity prices continued to soar higher. By late January, the S&P 500 had already surpassed the average year-end target from strategists.
WORLD
Ukraine-Russia gas transit deal faces critical moment of truth
Before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia was the EU’s top gas supplier, providing more than 40% of the bloc’s imports.
WORLD
Elon Musk’s immigration fight with Donald Trump allies engulfs social media
The immigration controversy originated after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist with longstanding ties to the president-elect, criticized his decision to name India-born investor Sriram Krishnan as a senior policy adviser
BUSINESS
OpenAI mulls plan for a more conventional for-profit business
The board is evaluating a plan that would turn OpenAI’s business into a public benefit corporation — an entity free to pursue income but with the goal of bettering society — while retaining a non-profit side, according to a blog post Friday.
WORLD
Osamu Suzuki, who ran Suzuki Motor Corp for five decades, dies at 94
Suzuki’s more than 28 years as president across two terms made him the longest-serving head of a global automaker. He passed the presidency to his son in June 2015 and assumed a role as chairman and chief executive officer, a dual title he held onto for a year before stepping down.
BUSINESS
Alibaba, E-Mart to create $4 billion e-commerce JV in South Korea
The deal would help the companies face off against local rivals including Naver Corp. and Coupang Inc. This month, South Korea’s consumer confidence dropped by the most since the outbreak of Covid-19, battered by the political turmoil over martial law declaration.
BUSINESS
China seeks to spur growth by giving local officials bond leeway
Eleven regions, including some of the biggest provincial economies like Guangdong, will be allowed to approve the projects funded by the bonds.
BUSINESS
Most Asian stocks rise amid thin holiday trading
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda gave a talk on Wednesday and avoided giving a clear signal that he might raise interest rates next month by reiterating the need to keep monitoring risks for the economy in comments that nudged down the yen.
BUSINESS
Swiss PE Partners Group eyes IT, Pharma in India portfolio rejig after 300% gain
The fund is looking to exit some India investments and deploy the winnings in other sectors in the country such as healthcare, technology, education and shadow lending.
BUSINESS
Singapore pulls ahead of Hong Kong in race to be crypto hub
Singapore doled out 13 crypto licenses in 2024 to a range of crypto operators including top exchanges OKX and Upbit, as well as global heavyweights Anchorage, BitGo and GSR.
BUSINESS
China's hottest stock rockets 370% on craze for collectibles
Fervour for its wide-ranging toys has turned Pop Mart into the hottest Chinese growth company, with shares up 368% this year, trouncing most members on the MSCI China Index.
