BUSINESS
A 700% jump in Tomato prices creates windfall for Indian farmers
Retail prices of tomatoes were at 178 rupees ($2.20) a kilogram in Delhi on Sunday, a jump of more than 700% from Jan. 1, according to data compiled by the food ministry. The national average was almost 120 rupees that day.
BUSINESS
Adani’s go-to bankers at Barclays turn cautious after Hindenburg
An explosive report by short-seller Hindenburg Research in January has changed all that, prompting the bank to pare its exposure, leaving a hole in an Indian business that’s been a key driver of the firm’s Asian growth for years.
WORLD
Microsoft-Activision deal poised to close later than planned
The companies don’t plan to walk away from the deal and will continue seeking the final regulatory approvals needed for closing, said the people, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
WORLD
How China beat everyone to be world leader in electric vehicles
Beijing’s success is breathtaking. EVs accounted for a quarter of all passenger cars sold in China last year, far ahead of the roughly one in seven in the US and one in eight in Europe. And the pace is accelerating. HSBC expects the EV penetration rate in the world’s second-largest economy to reach 90% by 2030.
WORLD
US plans narrow limits on China tech investments, likely by 2024
Officials are aiming to wrap up a proposal by the end of August for the long-delayed program to screen and possibly prohibit investment in China’s semiconductor, quantum-computing and artificial intelligence sectors, according to people familiar with the plans, who asked not to be identified because the details are still private.
BUSINESS
Vedanta step closer to regain control over Zambia copper assets
“Vedanta is alive to the fact that the talks have taken a little longer than initially anticipated,” it said in a statement on Sunday. “The company is firmly committed to the process.”
WORLD
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to step down before term ends next month
Shehbaz Sharif, who took over in April 2022 after leading a coalition of parties that removed Imran Khan from power through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, didn’t say when exactly he will quit.
WORLD
Dollar’s busted bull run has bears calling end of an era
The greenback’s worst slump since November has a bevy of strategists and investors saying a turning point is finally at hand for the world’s primary reserve currency. If they’re right, there will be far-reaching consequences for global economies and financial markets.
WORLD
Actors go on strike in new blow to struggling Hollywood studios
The Writers Guild of America, meanwhile has been on strike since May 2, shutting down late-night TV programs like The Tonight Show, halting many projects in progress and imperiling the traditional release of new broadcast TV shows starting in September.
WORLD
Artificial sweetener Aspartame is ‘possibly’ carcinogenic, yet safe at common use levels, WHO says
Citing the results of two new assessments of the health impact of the popular artificial sweetener, the WHO said that it has “limited evidence” that aspartame can cause cancer in humans.
WORLD
Solar farms out at sea are clean energy’s next breakthrough
The experiment by State Power Investment Corp., China’s biggest renewable power developer, and Norway-based developer Ocean Sun AS is one of the most high-profile tests yet of offshore solar technology.
WORLD
Microsoft, Activision weigh sale of some UK cloud-gaming rights
The sale could involve the cloud-based market rights for games in the UK to a telecommunications, gaming or internet-based computing company, the Bloomberg report said, citing people familiar with the matter. A private-equity company might also be interested, according to the report.
WORLD
OpenAI’s ChatGPT Bot probed by FTC over consumer harms
The document request was sent recently to the Microsoft Corp.-backed AI company seeking information on whether ChatGPT harms consumers, according to the person, who asked not to be named discussing a non-public investigation.
WORLD
Australian treasurer names Michele Bullock first female RBA Governor
“Bullock is the right person to lead the RBA into the future and ensure we have the world’s best and most effective central bank,” Jim Chalmers told reporters in Canberra on Friday. Her seven-year term will begin on Sept. 18.
WORLD
China unveils final version of generative AI rules
Among the 24 provisions are requirements for platform providers to carry out a security review and register their services with the government, as was stipulated in a draft version released in April.
WORLD
AI doomsday scenarios are gaining traction in Silicon Valley
As many in the AI industry shrugged or raised eyebrows at this assessment, he created the Machine Intelligence Research Institute with funding from Peter Thiel, among others, and collaborated on written work with futurists such as Nick Bostrom.
BUSINESS
EQT Asia fund plans to invest more than $3 billion in India
BPEA-EQT plans to commit nearly 30% of the $11.2 billion Baring Private Equity Asia Fund VIII, according to Jimmy Mahtani, a partner at the firm who is responsible for investments in India.
BUSINESS
Govt considers banning most rice exports as local prices surge
The government is discussing a plan to ban exports of all non-Basmati rice, according to people familiar with the matter. Authorities want to avoid the risk of more inflation before elections, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is not public.
BUSINESS
Varun Beverages may keep rallying after almost 1,000% surge
Varun Beverages Ltd., which says it’s responsible for about 90% of PepsiCo sales in India, is set to profit from the expanded distribution of its products to remoter parts of the country, while sales should also benefit from the trend toward increasing temperatures, analysts say.
WORLD
AI Startup Anthropic releases updated ChatGPT rival, Claude 2
Anthropic said that Claude 2 is available to anyone in the US or UK online at claude.ai, and businesses can access it via an application programming interface.
WORLD
State, Commerce Departments hit by hackers tied to China
Last month, the US State Department identified anomalous activity and alerted Microsoft to the attack, according to a spokesperson.
BUSINESS
A $590-billion stock market rally faces earnings, retail selling tests
The MSCI India Index’s 12-month forward-earnings multiple has risen to near 21 times from 18.5 times just over three months ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s above its 10-year average and more than 50% higher than the valuation for the broader Asian gauge.
WORLD
McDonald’s China owners Carlyle, Trustar plan $4 billion exit
Shareholders have agreed to the plan, and the asset managers aim to finalize an agreement with investors in the fourth quarter, they said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk unveils xAI in new bid to rival startup OpenAI
Musk was involved in the creation of OpenAI, the highest-profile AI startup and developer of ChatGPT. But he has frequently and publicly criticized OpenAI since he left the board in 2018, especially after it created a for-profit arm the following year.
