BUSINESS
Energy, Chips, Taiwan: Flashpoints for 2023 in a fractured world
With a hot war raging in Europe and a cold one escalating between the US and China, the rest of the world is under pressure to pick sides.
BUSINESS
$250 million India tech fund on agenda of ex-KKR, BII managers
The new venture capital fund, Fractal Growth Partners, was co-founded by Ajay Candade, who until recently led KKR’s growth tech business in India, and Nikhil Balaraman, who was previously head of South Asia tech investment at BII.
ECONOMY
China boost for flagging world economy looks closer as reopening begins
The growth impulse will be felt through services sectors such as aviation, tourism and education as Chinese people pack their bags for international travel for the first time since the pandemic
WORLD
Huge sanctions are looming for the fuel that powers the world
From February 5, the European Union, the G-7 and its allies will attempt to impose a cap on Russia’s fuel export prices. While similar measures are already in place on its crude shipments, it is the cap and ban on refined fuels — and in particular diesel — that has some oil-market watchers concerned about the potential for price spikes
WORLD
Biden’s missteps on secret papers create a self-inflicted crisis
President’s aides say they’ve gone by the book on records drip of incomplete information suggests attempt at cover-up.
WORLD
Nearly all of Beijing to get Covid by end of January, study finds
The virus has been spreading at a faster pace in China after the government relaxed controls in November and abruptly abandoned its Covid Zero policy in December, according to the study.
INDIA
Not just Joshimath, these six towns in Uttarakhand are also at the risk of sinking
Incidents of land sinking in the Joshimath area were reported as early as the 1970s. A rapid subsidence of a maximum of 5.4 centimeters was triggered in Joshimath town in the 12 days up to Jan. 8.
INDIA
Joshimath subsidence: Here are other places at risk of sinking in the Himalayas
Incidents of land sinking in the Joshimath area were reported as early as the 1970s. A rapid subsidence of a maximum of 5.4 centimeters was triggered in Joshimath town in the 12 days up to Jan. 8.
BUSINESS
Nomura sees 75 basis point RBI rate cuts in 2023 as GDP slows
India’s monetary policy makers are expected to wind down hikes after a 25-basis-point move in February, capping the most aggressive tightening cycle since 2011.
BUSINESS
Centrum co-heads Ganashyam S, Arpita Vinay asked to leave due to 'loss of confidence'
The board of the Mumbai-based firm asked managing directors Ganashyam S. and Arpita Vinay to leave due to a “loss of confidence,” the group’s spokesman said in an emailed reply, without elaborating.
BUSINESS
Things to know as Davos returns in winter amid ‘polycrisis’ risk
The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns put paid to physical January gatherings in 2021 and 2022, but normal service is now resuming as more than 2,700 politicians, executives, investors, bankers and academics convene next week in the Swiss ski resort.
BUSINESS
Electric vehicles look poised for slower sales growth this year
Electric vehicle sales break records again, but the pace of growth slows.
BUSINESS
iPhone breakthrough masks India’s struggle to boost manufacturing
Apple Inc. began assembling its latest iPhone models in the South Asian nation in a significant break from its practice of reserving much of that for giant Chinese factories run by its main Taiwanese assemblers, a key win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” campaign.
BUSINESS
Apple’s Tim Cook takes rare CEO pay cut after pushback
As part of the changes, the percentage of stock units awarded to Cook and tied to Apple’s performance will increase to 75% in 2023 from 50%, as well as in future years, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.
ECONOMY
US inflation cools again, giving Fed room to downshift on rates
The overall CPI fell 0.1% from the prior month, with cheaper energy costs fueling the first decline in 2 1/2 years.
AUTOMOBILE
Auto Expo 2023: Tata Group to make electric vehicle battery cells in Europe, says CFO
Tata is finalizing plans and will announce details soon, CFO P.B. Balaji said, declining to disclose the location of the facility and a time frame. There will be a “lot of investments,” he said, without elaborating.
BUSINESS
India set to test green bond market with debut $2 billion sale
Green bond sales dropped for the first time in a decade last year, as monetary policy tightening hit issuance, and as asset managers came under fire for alleged greenwashing.
BUSINESS
World’s richest man Bernard Arnault taps daughter to run Dior
The appointment comes a month after Antoine Arnault, the eldest son, was given a wider role in the business, replacing Sidney Toledano as chief executive officer and vice chairman of Christian Dior SE, the holding company through which the family controls LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
BUSINESS
KKR invests $1.15 billion in Aircraft leasing as travel rebounds
The bet on air travel, made through KKR’s credit and infrastructure funds, adds to the roughly $8.3 billion that the alternative-asset manager has put into the aviation sector since 2015. KKR owns about 50% of Altavair.
BUSINESS
JPMorgan says it was defrauded in $175 million purchase of college site
The bank “paid $175 million for what it believed was a business deeply engaged with the college-aged market segment with 4.265 million customers,” JPMorgan said in a Dec. 22 lawsuit filed in Delaware federal court. “Instead, it received a business with fewer than 300,000 customers.”
BUSINESS
T-Mobile considers buying Ryan Reynolds’s Mint Mobile
The second-largest US mobile service provider has been in talks with Mint Mobile, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public.
BUSINESS
Apple is working on adding touch screens to Macs in major turnabout
Apple engineers are actively engaged in the project, indicating that the company is seriously considering producing touch-screen Macs for the first time, according to people familiar with the efforts. Still, a launch hasn’t been finalized and the plans could change.
BONDS
Pimco says ‘bonds are back’ with recession likely this year
Pimco says that while a recession could further challenge riskier assets like stocks, “we continue to see a strong case for investing in bonds, after yields reset higher in 2022 and with an economic downturn looking likely in 2023.”
BUSINESS
Rupee’s trendline breach opens up a path for further gains
The dollar-rupee closed below an uptrend in place since the beginning of 2022 on Tuesday, a bearish technical signal for chart watchers.
