WORLD
China brings back youth jobless rate, with rosier number
The jobless rate was 14.9% last month for those between 16 and 24 years old, the statistics department said in a statement Wednesday. That figure excluded students, and compared to 21.3% in June before the body suspended releasing such data.
WORLD
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Time owner Marc Benioff disagree on AI’s use of copyrighted content
“All the training data has been stolen,” Benioff said Tuesday in an interview at Bloomberg House at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Content from media outlets including Time and the New York Times Co. surfaces in results from AI companies, he said.
WORLD
Apple passed Samsung as world’s top phone maker in 2023
The iPhone accounted for a fifth of the global market with close to 235 million shipments last year, research firm IDC estimates.
WORLD
BP names Murray Auchincloss as new CEO after predecessor’s scandal
BP was thrown into turmoil after Looney resigned on Sept. 12 for failing to disclose relationships with employees and leaving no clear succession plan in place.
BUSINESS
Russian crude flows defy Red Sea chaos to exceed OPEC+ target
About 3.43 million barrels a day of crude were shipped from Russian ports in the four weeks to Jan. 14, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg show.
BUSINESS
Bill Gates says global health spending key to halting climate change
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that he co-chairs announced plans to spend $8.6 billion on health care technology and programs in 2024
BUSINESS
IMF’s Georgieva sees global growth aided by 2023 tail winds
IMF chief’s sentiment was echoed by her colleague, First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, who told a Davos panel that the chances of a so-called soft landing have gone up “quite a bit”
WORLD
Microsoft’s Satya Nadella wants stability at OpenAI, not control
“What we just want is good stability,” he said in an interview at Bloomberg House in Davos. “We invested, we partnered when they were whatever they were and whatever they are today — a capped-profit, nonprofit, what have you. So I’m comfortable. I have no issues with any structure.”
MARKETS
India stocks’ valuation premium over China approaches record
The MSCI India Index trades at a 157% premium over the China gauge on valuations based on forward earnings estimates, just 3 percentage points short of the record reached in October 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
WORLD
China weighs more stimulus with $139 billion of special bonds
Prior sales of such bonds are rare: In the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998, for example, the government issued special debt to replenish capital for major state-owned banks. The most recent sale was in 2020, when authorities issued 1 trillion yuan worth of those bonds to pay for pandemic response measures.
WORLD
IMF’s Gita Gopinath says market bets on rate cuts are ‘premature’
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the fund’s first deputy managing director said that even after sharp hikes in borrowing costs in the last two years, the job is still not done as labor markets remain tight on both sides of the Atlantic.
WORLD
What is disease X? How scientists are preparing for the next pandemic
The idea was to encourage the development of platform technologies, including vaccines, drug therapies and diagnostic tests, that could be rapidly adapted and deployed in response to an array of future outbreaks with epidemic or pandemic potential.
BUSINESS
Indian rupee may be winner only if RBI eases hold
On its own, the stars are aligned for the rupee — prospects of large bond and stocks inflows on the back of JPMorgan Chase & Co’s inclusion of Indian debt in its emerging market index as well as a global risk-on sentiment.
WORLD
Vivek Ramaswamy leaves 2024 race, throws support behind Donald Trump
The entrepreneur plans to announce his support for Donald Trump during an event in Iowa later Monday, according to the person, who described Ramaswamy’s plans on condition of anonymity.
BUSINESS
Asia is home to most 2024 IPO debuts with India taking the lead
Of 38 global listings in the past two weeks, 34 were in Asia Pacific, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Americas followed with three newcomers, while the Middle East saw one and Europe had none, the data show.
WORLD
AI and climate change threaten nearly half the world’s businesses
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ poll of 4,702 company leaders around the world found that 45% said their businesses could fail in 10 years unless they adapt, up from 39% in 2023.
WORLD
De Beers cuts diamond prices to revive sales
While those efforts helped the market to pick up a bit, it’s unclear how much appetite trade buyers currently have.
BUSINESS
Axis Bank CEO Amitabh Chaudhry says India in a better place for economic growth
The $3.4 trillion economy, Asia’s third largest, is projected to expand 7.3% in the year through March, according to government estimates, buoyed by strong consumer and government spending, and a boost in manufacturing.
BUSINESS
Hyundai to spend $845 million fixing GM’s mothballed India plant
Hyundai last year bought the General Motors factory in Talegaon, which has stood idle for years after the US company struggled to sell it off following its exit from the country.
WORLD
Hyundai offers $7,500 cash bonus for EVs to match US tax credits
The discounts apply to the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric, and the month-long incentive will last through Jan. 31, according to the Korean automaker’s website.
WORLD
US shoots down cruise missile fired from Houthi area in Yemen
The missile was fired Sunday at about 4:45 p.m. local time at the USS Laboon and shot down in the vicinity of the coast, US Central Command said in a social media post Monday.
WORLD
Foreigners sell China stocks in 2024 as economic woes worsen
Sentiment remained downbeat as deflationary pressures persist, while policy support has been underwhelming.
WORLD
Taiwan stocks rise as election result seen to force compromise
The election results indicate that the DPP will have to work with other major parties, including the more China-friendly Kuomintang, on policy. The Taiex stock benchmark gained as much as 0.7% before paring, while the local dollar fell.
WORLD
Artificial Intelligence will affect almost 40% of jobs, IMF Kristalina Georgieva says
“In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a blog post on the study.
