World Street | Japan' weak household spending, Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft's survival woes and more

World Street offers a sneak peek into the world of business and economy.

Japan's household spending declined at a slower pace than expected in November. French video game company that made Assassin’s Creed-- Ubisoft is on the lookout for options to explore strategic options. A consortium led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty has bid for US operations of social media app TikTok. As global banks transform processes using AI, up to 200,000 jobs could be lost over the next three to five years.

Weakness persists

Japanese household spending declined at a slower-than-expected pace in November, according to government data released on Friday, though overall consumption remained subdued due to rising prices.

While robust wage hikes are anticipated during spring pay negotiations, analysts warn that inflation could dampen the recovery in real wages and personal consumption, raising doubts about the Bank of Japan's plans for a rate hike.

Year-on-year, consumer spending fell 0.4% in November, slightly better than the market's forecast of a 0.6% drop. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, spending rose 0.4%, defying expectations of a 0.9% decline.

Going downhill

French video game publisher Ubisoft announced on Thursday that it has appointed advisors to explore strategic options, following earlier reports of a potential buyout by its majority stakeholders. Independent board members will oversee the process, with updates provided as required.

This comes after an October report by Bloomberg News suggesting that the Guillemot family, Ubisoft's founders, along with Chinese tech giant Tencent, were considering a potential takeover. Ubisoft's shares surged over 30% following the report.

Eyes on the prize

Entrepreneur and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty and its consortium, The People’s Bid, announced plans to formally bid for TikTok’s US assets ahead of ByteDance's Jan. 19 deadline to sell or face a ban. The group, which includes major investors and debt financing from a top U.S. bank, did not disclose the proposal's value. McCourt formed the consortium last year to acquire TikTok's US operations.

A new normal

Global banks could slash up to 200,000 jobs over the next three to five years as AI takes over tasks currently handled by humans, according to Bloomberg Intelligence (BI). A survey of chief information and technology officers by BI revealed an anticipated 3% net workforce reduction.

Back-office, middle-office, and operations roles are most at risk, with customer service and know-your-customer functions also vulnerable, said BI senior analyst Tomasz Noetzel. While AI will transform the workforce, it won’t entirely eliminate routine, repetitive roles, he added.