BUSINESS
AI stocks supercharge a tech bull market—and maybe a bubble
A serious rally has—somehow—erupted in US technology stocks thanks almost solely to investor ardor for artificial intelligence. More than $4 trillion has been added to the value of companies in the Nasdaq-100 Index since the start of the year—a particularly fast conjuring of wealth, even by the standards of the pandemic-era frenzy.
BUSINESS
Cost of your caffeine and sugar fix to stay high on El Niño
Think coffee, chocolates and your favorite snacks. Prices of soft commodities have soared this year because of supply constraints. The return of El Niño and prospects of hotter, drier weather in producing countries is now threatening to exacerbate tight supply.
BUSINESS
‘Decade of emerging markets’ may be about to regain traction
A revival may still make this the decade of emerging markets that Morgan Stanley Investment Management flagged earlier this year.
BUSINESS
Citi to cut 50 London investment and corporate banking jobs
The cuts are necessary for the bank to reduce its cost base because of adverse market conditions, according to a person within the bank, who isn’t authorized to speak publicly. Financial News reported the layoffs earlier.
INDIA
Govt plans fewer GDP estimates to avoid confusing markets
The move comes after numerous controversies over India’s data with market watchers often describing the numbers as inadequate or even confusing due to sharp and unexpected revisions.
WORLD
TikTok-owner tests ChatGPT-style bot after joining China AI race
TikTok’s owner has code-named the project “Grace,” a ByteDance spokesperson said without revealing more details.
WORLD
Binance.US set to be cut off from banking system after SEC suit
In a tweet of an email to customers, the platform said its payment and banking partners have signaled an intent to pause US dollar fiat channels as early as June 13.
BUSINESS
Unilever India CEO Sanjiv Mehta says successor faces rush to tap giant market
Sanjiv Mehta hands over the reins to fellow Unilever veteran Rohit Jawa later this month, at a time of intense investment interest in India.
BUSINESS
Byju’s plans lender call for loan amendment proposal
The company scheduled a call for lenders on Monday to discuss an amendment proposal, the people said, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Details of the proposal will be shared ahead of the call, they added.
BUSINESS
Coal India in talks with protestors over coal mine expansion
Protests against plans for the Gevra site in the eastern province of Chhattisgarh threaten to complicate the company’s ability to win approvals to expand annual capacity to 70 million tons.
BUSINESS
US jobless claims surge to 261,000, highest since October 2021
Initial jobless claims rose by 28,000 to 261,000 in the week ended June 3, which included the Memorial Day holiday, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. The increase was the biggest since July 2021.
BUSINESS
HDFC Bank may pick Arvind Kapil to lead home loans after merger
If he gets the role, Kapil will lead a mammoth mortgage business, that currently includes gross individual loans of Rs 5 lakh crore ($61 billion) at HDFC and over Rs 1 lakh crore at HDFC Bank, according to the firms’ latest financial statements.
WORLD
In a new era, luxury airlines cater to all travelers
Buoyed by the growing leisure demand for seats in first class and business class—which has Delta, United and American airlines expanding their premium cabins by from 25% to 75%—these new players are finding fresh ways to cut the drudgery out of commercial flying.
WORLD
Lithium shortages could hand salt a starring role in EV shift
In a new analysis of the technology, BloombergNEF said it expects sodium to take market share from the cheapest, lowest-range end of the car market in China, and that by 2035 it could displace about 272,000 tons of demand for lithium.
BUSINESS
Stocks head for record high, boosted by foreign inflows
Equities rebounded from this year’s lows touched in March as global funds, disappointed by China’s uneven recovery, increased holdings of Indian stocks to capitalize on one of the fastest growth rates among major world economies.
WORLD
StanChart trimming more than 100 roles as part of cost cuts
The bank has started trimming roles in middle office functions including human resources and digital transformation in Asia in the last few weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
WORLD
TikTok seeks $20 billion e-commerce business despite US setback
TikTok is betting on markets such as Indonesia, where influencers sell products from denim jeans to lipstick by showing them off in live-streamed videos.
INDIA
Thyssenkrupp bids for $5.2-billion Indian submarine contract
India is looking to order six diesel-electric submarines at an estimated cost of $5.2 billion.
BUSINESS
MRPL shelves refinery growth to focus on chemicals bet
A shifting energy landscape primarily driven by the uptake of electric vehicles has prompted MRPL to focus its efforts on increasing output of chemicals that can be used for plastics and paints, Sanjay Varma, managing director, said in an interview.
BUSINESS
Google bets on local languages to fuel Android’s growth in India
The Alphabet Inc. unit is enabling more users in India to access its services with their local language, by either writing or using their voice, Sanjay Gupta, head of Google India, said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
RBI may pause again with markets watching for shift in stance
All 40 economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast the Indian central bank will keep the repurchase rate unchanged at 6.50% on Thursday, signaling that inflation could cool further in the months ahead.
WORLD
Coinbase threatens to take SEC fight to Supreme Court if needed
“If it takes going to the Supreme Court, that’s what we’re prepared to do,” Coinbase’s top lawyer, Paul Grewal, said in an interview, adding that he believes the company will prevail. “I think that every court that looks at this issue is going to conclude the SEC has fundamentally gotten this wrong.”
BUSINESS
Coinbase sued by SEC for breaking US securities rules, shares down 15% in early trade
The regulator said in a 101-page complaint that Coinbase, the largest US crypto platform, evaded regulations by letting users trade numerous crypto tokens that were actually unregistered securities.
BUSINESS
Byju’s skips $40 million loan payment in dispute with lenders
Byju’s did not pay $40 million in interest that was due on Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company said in a statement June 6 that it has filed a complaint concerning the loan to the New York Supreme Court.
