BUSINESS
AI model backed by Asia’s richest person to launch in March
The BharatGPT group, encompassing an arm of India’s most valuable company and eight affiliated universities, offered a sneak peek of the large language model Tuesday during a technology conference in Mumbai.
WORLD
Emerging-market stocks erase 2024 losses after January rout
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose as much as 0.7% Wednesday, putting it on course to close above the level of 1,023.74 set on the last trading day of 2023.
BUSINESS
India banks’ rush for clients set for reckoning after Paytm
India stunned investors last month by abruptly suspending most activities of the banking affiliate of Paytm, a once high-flying fintech star that had attracted backing from Warren Buffett and SoftBank Group Corp.
BUSINESS
France seeks first meeting for India-to-EU infrastructure link
President Emmanuel Macron named Gerard Mestrallet, the former chief executive officer of French energy utility Engie SA, his envoy to lay the ground work of the project. The concept, known as IMEC, aims to create a network of railroads, ships, gas pipelines and internet cables.
WORLD
Abu Dhabi considers buying stake in London’s Heathrow airport
Sovereign wealth fund Mubadala is weighing an investment after it was approached by Paris-based buyout firm Ardian, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is private.
BUSINESS
India regulator uncovers $241 million accounting issue at Zee: Report
The amount found missing is not final and may change after Sebi reviews the responses from the company executives, the people said.
AUTOMOBILE
Wireless charging for electric cars is inching closer to reality
Companies are coalescing around standardized technology, automakers are embarking on wireless experiments, and municipalities are mapping out use cases. Even Tesla Inc. is interested.
WORLD
In rare move, China vows to heed market criticisms to avert $5 trillion rout
WORLD
Europe car sales jump 11% in January on pent-up demand
New-vehicle registrations rose to 1.02 million units last month, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said Tuesday. Fully electric vehicles made up 11.9% of total deliveries, up from 10.3% a year ago as automakers seek to reboot purchasing amid a bruising price war.
WORLD
Barclays aims to cut costs by £2 billion in bid to boost returns
The British bank, which is mainly known for its global investment banking and markets franchise, achieved a return on tangible equity of 9% for 2023, according to a statement on Tuesday.
WORLD
Iron Ore slumps to three-month low as China concerns escalate
Futures sank more than 3% in Singapore to hit the lowest intraday price since Nov. 8, following a drop in the week’s opening session.
BUSINESS
Investors are turning wary of crowded India trade after run-up
Earnings misses, the attractiveness of rival markets amid expectations of a dovish policy shift by the Federal Reserve and a nascent recovery in Chinese equities are casting doubts over India extending a rally that saw the nation’s main gauges posting a record eighth straight year of gains in 2023.
BUSINESS
Qatar to announce more LNG deals with European, Asian buyers
QatarEnergy may also sign deals with additional partners to take a stake in the expansion of the offshore North Field, Qatar's Energy Minister Al-Kaabi said
WORLD
SoftBank stock rises on CEO Masayoshi Son’s Plan for $100 billion chip project
Shares in the Tokyo-based tech investor gained as much as 3.2% after Bloomberg News reported the 66-year-old billionaire is seeking funding for a foray into AI chips to compete with Nvidia Corp.
WORLD
Foreign direct investment to China slumps to 30 year low
China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments stood at $33 billion last year, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released Sunday.
WORLD
Dubai’s golden visas are helping city defy global office slump
The United Arab Emirates — of which Dubai is a part — started to break away from a decades-old economic model that prevails across the oil-rich region, linking residency to employment.
WORLD
China state banks earmark $8 billion for property projects
Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. approved more than 40 billion yuan of loans for real estate projects on white lists, the lender said in a statement Monday. China Construction Bank Corp. extended 3 billion yuan to five property projects, with more than 20 billion yuan of approved loans in the pipeline, it said late Friday.
BUSINESS
Wall Street warming to big shale after $250 billion of deals
Diamondback Energy Inc.’s takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources LP announced on February 12 topped off a year of roughly $250 billion in US oil and natural gas deals that consolidated a fractured collection of private wildcatters into larger corporations
BUSINESS
OpenAI’s Sam Altman Seeks US Blessing to Raise Billions for AI Chips
Altman is also considering whether to create and issue equity in a new company, separate from OpenAI, some of the people said, in a move that might raise antitrust concerns. That’s part of why the plan needs US government approval before moving forward.
BUSINESS
Foreigners Back India Bonds Over Pricey Stocks in Tactical Bet
For bulls who powered the massive rally, the tactical trade at the moment is to move into the bonds, whose appeal has been further burnished by the nation’s improving finances and burgeoning foreign reserves.
BUSINESS
Goldman sees India potential growth above 6% this decade
The long term growth potential is likely “inching higher toward 6.5%, or slightly higher,” Santanu Sengupta said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin Friday. He forecast growth at 6.3% for the next fiscal year that starts in April, lower than Reserve Bank of India’s projection of 7%.
WORLD
Japan 10-year yield seen breaking above 1% even before BoJ Hike
That’s the view of some analysts in Tokyo as traders prepare for the Bank of Japan to increase rates for the first time since 2007. Overnight-indexed swaps point to a 67% chance that the BOJ will end negative rates by April.
BUSINESS
Bull run in India state-owned firms’ shares faces earnings risk
Companies in the BSE PSU Index beat analysts’ expectations by a mere 1% in the three months ended December, the slowest pace in six quarters, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
TECHNOLOGY
Google rolls out updated AI model capable of handling longer text, video
The updated AI model, called Gemini 1.5 Pro, will be available on Thursday to cloud customers and developers so they can test its new features and eventually create new commercial applications
