BUSINESS
Startup CEO fired for LSD use claims discrimination in lawsuit
Justin Zhu, who was fired from Iterable Inc. last year after disagreements with his investors, claims in a complaint filed in state court in San Francisco that the company's stated reason for firing him, that he violated company policy by using an illegal drug, was "pretextual and a subterfuge."
BUSINESS
Cooling prices give RBI space to slow interest-rate hikes
After 190 basis points of rate increases this year, including three half-point moves, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Shaktikanta Das has more than one reason to switch to smaller increments: inflation is coming off a high and headwinds to economic growth are increasing.
BUSINESS
Trade ministry seeks to cut gold tariff to curb smuggling
The world’s second-largest consumer of the precious metal, almost all of which is purchased from abroad, has asked the Finance Ministry to consider reducing the tariff to about 10% from 12.5%, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private.
BUSINESS
Intel says it’s on course to regain chip production leadership
“We’re completely on track,” Intel Vice President Ann Kelleher, the head of technology development, said Monday in a press briefing in San Francisco. “We do quarterly milestones, and according to those milestones we’re ahead or on track.”
BUSINESS
Investors overseeing $5 trillion bet that recession can be avoided
Money managers have been favoring economically sensitive equities, such as industrial companies and commodity producers, according to a study from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on positioning by mutual funds and hedge funds with assets totaling almost $5 trillion.
BUSINESS
World Cup interest is so high in Japan that a top streaming site can’t cope
Viewers of the Japan-Croatia match were advised halfway through the contest that access for new streamers would be restricted in order to ensure a stable service.
BUSINESS
PM Modi set to retain power in key state of Gujarat, exit polls show
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, could sweep Gujarat and win two-thirds of the seats in an 182-member assembly, according to at least seven exit polls conducted after the final phase of voting. The BJP has controlled Gujarat’s government for the six previous terms.
BUSINESS
PepsiCo to cut hundreds of jobs as economic pain grows, WSJ says
The Purchase, New York-based company will dismiss hundreds of employees, the Journal reported Monday, citing an internal memo. PepsiCo described the layoffs as intended to “simplify” the organization, the Journal said.
BUSINESS
Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson is a stock market seller again
The strategist, one of the US stock market’s most vocal skeptics, has seen enough of the recent rally that he’d predicted and says investors are better off booking profits.
BUSINESS
Vodafone CEO Nick Read ousted after commercial challenges
Chief Financial Officer Margherita Della Valle will do the job on an interim basis while the board, led by Chairman Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, seeks a replacement.
BUSINESS
Morgan Stanley upgrades China stocks on reopening bullishness
“Multiple positive developments alongside a clear path set toward reopening warrant an upgrade,” strategists including Laura Wang wrote in a note dated Sunday. “We are at the beginning of a multi-quarter recovery in earnings revisions and valuations.”
BUSINESS
China’s covid pivot accelerates as cities ease testing rules
The financial hub of Shanghai, which saw a gruelling two-month lockdown earlier in the year, scrapped PCR testing requirements to enter outdoor public venues such as parks or use public transportation starting Monday, city authorities said in a statement.
BUSINESS
Argentina is pressing US for exception to tap EV tax bonanza
Designed to end China’s overwhelming dominance of the critical metals sector and passed in August, Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act has been welcomed as a landmark climate law that will boost EV manufacture and uptake in the US.
BUSINESS
Europe’s new sanctions on Russian oil kick in: What changes?
The Group of Seven clinched a last-minute deal to cap the price of Russian crude at $60 per barrel.
BUSINESS
Saudi Crown Prince to invest in Credit Suisse unit, WSJ reports
Prince Mohammed may invest around $500 million in the lender’s CS First Boston spinout, the newspaper said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
COMMODITIES
OPEC+ pauses as Russia sanctions and China Covid rules roil crude markets
The 23-nation group has only just implemented the hefty 2 million barrel-a-day reduction agreed at its last gathering in October, and the full impact of that cut is unclear amid severe gyrations in prices
BUSINESS
Elon Musk says Apple is ‘fully’ advertising on Twitter again
In taking aim at Apple, Musk risked a war with the world’s most valuable company and a top advertisers at a time when other companies were pulling their marketing from Twitter.
BUSINESS
Centre seeks to roll back states’ ability to borrow more
States’ borrowing, including those to undertake power sector reforms, is likely to be capped at 3.5% of their gross domestic product for the fiscal year starting April 1.
BUSINESS
Musk hails release of Twitter emails on Hunter Biden story
In late 2020, in the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Twitter decided to restrict a New York Post article containing unverified claims about Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine.
INDIA
Woman with fake baby bump caught smuggling computer chips into China
The woman was stopped while crossing into Zhuhai from Macau on Nov. 25, customs said in a statement on Thursday, adding she was found with 202 processors and nine smartphones.
BUSINESS
Bernie Madoff’s lawyer has some advice for Sam Bankman-Fried: Shut up
Sorkin says Bankman-Fried should listen to his lawyers and stop talking immediately. Anyone who’s watched Law & Order knows that.
BUSINESS
Larry Summers sees more Fed rate hikes than markets expect
BUSINESS
FTX’s LedgerX on Blockchain, Gemini’s radar
The unit, which is registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a derivatives exchange, was a cornerstone of Bankman-Fried’s efforts in Washington.
WORLD
US hiring and wages extend strong gains, keeping pressure on Fed
Nonfarm payrolls increased 263,000 in November after an upwardly revised 284,000 gain in October, a Labor Department report showed.
