BUSINESS
Warren Buffett predicts earnings decline across Berkshire units
The billionaire investor expects earnings at the majority of Berkshire’s operations to fall this year as a long-predicted downturn slows economic activity.
BUSINESS
Vedanta Resources repays $800 million loans to Standard Chartered Bank
Vedanta Resources said in an exchange filing that it has repaid three facilities, which were taken from Standard Chartered Bank in London and Hong Kong.
WORLD
HSBC investors reject special resolutions on dividends, strategy
Indicative results from Friday’s annual meeting show that about a fifth of voting investors backed the call for HSBC to report regularly on the possibility of carving out its Asian unit, while 19.2% supported lifting its dividend to its pre-pandemic level.
WORLD
Russia says it has billions of Indian rupees that it can't use
“This is a problem,” Lavrov told reporters in India’s western state of Goa on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting. “We need to use this money. But for this, these rupees must be transferred in another currency, and this is being discussed now.”
BUSINESS
Oil set for worst run this year as recession fears rattle market
West Texas Intermediate advanced above $69 a barrel on Friday, but the US crude benchmark has still retreated by close to 10% this week after a four-day skid.
WORLD
Saudi Arabia cuts Asia oil prices as energy market weakens
A softening US economy and continued fragility among its banks, as well as weak manufacturing data in China, have triggered a renewed fall in Brent and WTI futures. Refining margins have also sunk.
WORLD
JPMorgan sees investors moving to Gold, tech amid recession risk
The trade defined as “long duration” is expressed by being overweight on gold, growth stocks such as technology companies and currencies (short USD), strategists including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and Mika Inkinen wrote in a note, adding the bet is far from crowded in rates due to the highly inverted yield curve.
WORLD
Macquarie commodity trader’s $39 million pay tops Jamie Dimon
O’Kane, who took over as the head of the commodities and global markets unit in 2019, is getting a 59% boost to A$57.6 million ($38.6 million) for the year through March 2023, according to Macquarie’s annual report released Friday. In contrast, Chief Executive Officer Shemara Wikramanayake is getting a total of A$32.8 million, up 27% from a year earlier.
WORLD
BMW warns owners ‘do not drive’ 90,000 cars recalled over defective airbag
The “do not drive” alert follows similar orders from Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and others about the Takata Corp. airbags, which can explode if they are deployed after long-term exposure to high heat and humidity.
BUSINESS
Coal to dominate India power mix despite record renewables push
India, the world’s third-largest emitter, is seeking to meet surging electricity demand driven by rising per-capita energy consumption and a post-pandemic industrial rebound at the same time it takes action to decarbonize its power sector, according to the power ministry’s Central Electricity Authority.
WORLD
The best bar in North America is double chicken please in New York city
The bar has been named the best bar on the continent by World’s 50 Best, the organization that ranks and promotes restaurants and other hospitality companies throughout the world.
WORLD
Jollibee billionaires bet on online stock trading in Philippines
With about 90% of their investments spent on technology and software-related manpower, they are hoping the platform can rival some of the biggest local online stock brokers.
WORLD
Google reveals new foldable pixel phone
The company posted a video and photos of the device, called the Pixel Fold, showing a phone with a large external display and an even bigger internal screen that can close up like a clamshell.
WORLD
Apple’s Tim Cook says AI concerns still need to be sorted out
Speaking on an earnings call Thursday, Cook noted that Apple already uses AI across much of its lineup, including in features like fall detection on its smartwatch. The company will continue to add the technology to more of its products, he said, but on a “very thoughtful basis.”
WORLD
Microsoft is supporting AMD’s expansion into AI chips
The companies are teaming up to offer an alternative to Nvidia Corp., which dominates the market for AI-capable chips called graphics processing units, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
WORLD
Google is falling behind in AI arms race, senior engineer warns
The leaked document, published by the Substack newsletter SemiAnalysis, made the rounds in tech circles on Thursday. In it, the engineer argues that Google’s rivalry with startup OpenAI had distracted from the rapid developments being made in open-source technology.
WORLD
Alibaba’s global online commerce arm weighs a US IPO
Theonline shopping unit which competes with rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. in markets outside China, is one of six parts that Alibaba is splitting into.
BUSINESS
US jobless claims rise to 242,000, biggest increase in six weeks
Even as the labor market starts showing some weakness, it’s still cooling at a much slower pace than other economic indicators in the wake of an aggressive tightening campaign by the Federal Reserve.
BUSINESS
Adani Transmission said to plan up to $100 million of bonds buyback
The move is another effort by the port-to-power conglomerate to restore investor confidence after a Hindenburg Research report in January accused it of fraud
BUSINESS
EV ride-hailing startup BluSmart raises $42 million from BP, others
Investors include BP Ventures, the investment arm of energy giant BP Plc that holds 20% equity. BluSmart is currently valued at $250 million, its co-founder Anmol Jaggi told Bloomberg News, and the founders too participated in the current round.
WORLD
What the Fed moves mean for interest rates in Asia
Australia, which serves as a proxy for risk sentiment across the region, snuck in a surprise rate hike less than 40 hours before Powell & Co. delivered what very well could be their last of this cycle. Overnight index swaps show investors expect a quick end to the Aussie hikes.
WORLD
Joe Biden picks Fed’s Philip Jefferson for Vice Chair, Adriana Kugler for Governor
The selections could be announced as soon as Friday, two of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
WORLD
Regional banks sink as PacWest weighs strategic options
The Beverly Hills-based lender plunged as much as 60% in postmarket trading, while Western Alliance Bancorp fell as much as 38%. PacWest has been working with a financial adviser and has also been considering a breakup or a capital raise, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS
Fierce AI talent war shifts to India with salaries being doubled
The 36-year-old data-science specialist works in artificial intelligence, perhaps the most coveted experience on the planet after OpenAI demonstrated the breakthroughs of ChatGPT.
