Tag: Top International news

1. U.S Markets in Red Awaiting More Economic Cues

U.S Markets traded flat ahead of consumer price and inflation data announcement on Thursday. The announcement will be key in predicting how long the U.S Federal Reserve will keep the record-low interest rates unchanged. Crude oil prices cooled off continuing yesterday’s trend, after concerns of oversupply. 

Big banks stayed in red while tech companies moved up. Bitcoin is trading in the red after the U.S successfully recovered a huge part of the ransom paid to hackers over the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline last month. This has proved that Bitcoin is now more trackable than ever by Government authorities.

Stoxx Europe is up 0.25%

Dow Jones is down 0.20%

NASDAQ is up 0.32%

2. Apple Approaches Battery Companies For Its EV

 Apple is moving ahead with its plans for an Electric Vehicle and the company is in talks with China’s CATL and BYD about the supply of batteries. CATL and BYD rank first and fourth in the automotive battery-making industry.

3. Amazon To Open Data Centers In Spain 

Amazon Web Services is ready to invest Rs 10,922 crores to open data centres in Spain in 2022. The amount will be invested in 10 years for capital expenditure, the construction of the centres, imports of equipment, and operating expenses.

4. BAT Expects Higher Sales Growth From E-Cigarettes

 Cigarette maker British American Tobacco(BAT) raises annual sales growth outlook by more than 5% after its entry into e-cigarettes. The Vuse e-cigarettes and glo tobacco heating products of the company alone have a consumer base of 1.49 crores.

5. Major News, Media Sources Takes A Hit

 Multiple news & media sources such as Reddit, Amazon, CNN, Paypal, Spotify, and the New York Times are globally down. As per the latest reports available, a glitch at U.S.-based cloud computing services provider ‘Fastly’ caused the global outage.

6. Network Equipment Business Will Sustain: Samsung

Samsung Electronics said the network equipment business is catching up with the momentum as  5G operations fasten up across countries. Even though the company ranks only 5th in 5G network equipment, the recent deals with multiple carriers like Verizon is a good sign.

7. Wolf of Wall Street Producer named in $250 Million 1MDB Suit

Riza Aziz, one of the producers of The Wolf of Wall Street and stepson to former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, has been named by 1MDB in a $250 million(~Rs 1,800 crore) case. It is a huge ongoing scandal over alleged misuse of public assets under Najib Razak’s regime.

The case is one of several against individuals and companies including JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank filed by 1Malaysia Development Berhad to recover assets worth more than $23 billion(~Rs 1.65 lakh crore).

8. Tesla’s China Wholesales surge 29% in May after April slip

Tesla’s China shipments bounced back in May after production being suspended for maintenance last month. Concerns of low demand still exist for the coming month. After Tesla’s dream run in China, from government subsidies to good sales, the company is now facing some issues. 

Investors have been concerned about a protest at the Shanghai auto show in mid-April and a series of crashes involving the cars. 

Tesla is planning to sell its first car in India this year.

9. European Companies investing more in China After Pandemic

In a possible threat to India’s economic growth, European businesses are pumping in investments to China after the quick recovery of the country from the pandemic last year. According to a survey, more and more European companies are reporting that they will expand into China this year.

10. Biden Announces Plan to Boost Chip, Medicine Output

U.S President Joe Biden has released a strategy to secure important supply chains in medicines to semiconductors. The country is also considering an import on tariffs on magnets.

White House has recommended at least $50 billion(~Rs 3.7 lakh crore) in funding for semiconductor research and production in the U.S, to compete with China in the field. The entire world is currently experiencing a semiconductor shortage, even being felt by Indian automotive manufacturers.

1. Taxation Fears Stop U.S Market Rally

U.S Markets turned shaky near their all-time highs as fear of high taxation by foreign governments on U.S companies came in. The G7 countries have agreed to a common tax deal, which is aimed to reduce money laundering by huge corporations like Apple from the U.S to tax-haven countries like Ireland.

Stoxx Europe is up 0.21%

Dow Jones is down 0.21%

NASDAQ is down 0.56%

2. China’s May Trade Surplus With The US Jumps 13%

China’s trade surplus with the United States reached Rs 2,31,584 crores in May, a 13 percent rise from Rs 2,04,840 crores in April. After Biden started as the President of America, China engaged more in trades, and the surplus for the first 5 months of 2021 is at Rs 16,97,894 crores.

3. Tesla Cancels Production Of Longest-Range Model S Plaid+

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday announced the production cancellation of its longest-range model Model S Plaid+. The yet to be launched model was expected to be Tesla’s highest-end model with a range of 836 km. More details will be available from an event on June 10. Shares of Tesla are down 2.5%.

4. Dave App Getting Ready To Go Public

 Dave is an app used by Americans to avoid billions of dollars in overdraft fees charged by traditional banks. On Monday, it announced plans to go public through a merger with a blank-check firm sponsored by investment firm Victory Park Capital, valuing the banking app at Rs 29,133 cores

5. Amazon’s Founder Ready For Space Trip Next Month

Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos said on Monday, he and his brother Mark will fly on the first crewed space flight from his rocket company Blue Origin next month. The Blue Origin spacecraft has undergone 15 test flights, but none of them had any passengers onboard.

6. Brazilian Banks Faces Profitability Falls In 2020

As per a central bank report on the banking system on Monday, the Brazilian banks have seen a sharp fall in profitability in 2020. The major banks, Itau, Bradesco, Santander, Banco do Brasil and Caixa Economica Federal,  accounted for 77.6% of total assets in December 2020, down from 81% a year before.

7. Flipkart Getting Ready to Raise Rs 22,000 crores

Walmart-owned Flipkart is planning to raise $3 Billion(~Rs 22,000 crore) from investors including SoftBank Group and several sovereign wealth funds according to sources. Flipkart plans to raise the additional capital ahead of an IPO for next year. This fundraise can come as a threat to competitors including Amazon India and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail.

8. Crude Oil Prices Weaken; Bearish Signs Showing

Crude oil cooled off from its high of $72/barrel mark after concerns of oversupply started emerging. According to Bloomberg, 5 oil tankers carrying about 6 million barrels of North Sea crude have been floating off European shores for 3 weeks. The increase in floating barrels is said to be a sign of weak demand, especially from Covid hit Asia.

Supply is also expected to rise, with a major pipeline completing maintenance by mid-June.

9. SEC Concerned on Tesla Accepting Cryptocurrencies

The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission is said to be ‘concerned’ on Tesla accepting cryptocurrencies for payments on its cars. Electric carmaker Tesla had said it will accept Bitcoin as payment in February. But on May 12th, CEO Elon Musk said that the company will no longer accept Bitcoin for car purchases, talking about emissions concerns due to use of fossil fuels to mine the cryptocurrency.

Yesterday, hacker group Anonymous had threatened Elon Musk for his tweets alleging manipulation of crypto markets.

The SEC acts like India’s Securities and Exchange Board(SEBI).

10. Janet Yellen says Higher Interest Rates Not a Problem

U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said President Joe Biden should go ahead with his $4 trillion spending plans, even if it triggers higher inflation and higher interest rates.

“If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society’s point of view and the Fed’s point of view,” Yellen said in an interview after the G7 summit.

U.S markets are rallying up with power from ultra large cap tech stocks. Earlier in the day, jobs data from the country showed a growth in numbers as unemployment fell to 5.8% from 6.1% in April. A total of more than 5.5 lakh jobs were added in May, just near the estimated numbers. Investors are still assessing what this data will mean for the markets, as concerns of inflation keep returning. 

Stoxx Europe is up 0.29%

Dow Jones is up 0.30%

NASDAQ is up 1.20%

2. Launch Of Nissan Electric SUV Delayed

Nissan was planning to start selling its Ariya Electric SUV model from mid-2021 and now it’s been delayed due to the shortage of chips and pandemic situation. The Ariya is Nissan’s first EV in a decade and can travel up to 610 kilometers on a single charge.

3. Grab Your Passport; Get a Vaccine from Russia!

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday they are preparing to vaccinate foreign citizens in Russia against Covid-19 for a fee. Out of four vaccines approved in the country, the most widely used one is its own Sputnik V.

4. Pfizer/ BioNtech Vaccines Approved For 12-15-Year-Olds In The UK

               The medicines regulator of the UK on Friday approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccines for 12-15-year-olds. It hasn’t been decided whether this age group would come under the vaccine deployment program, anyways more and more people getting vaccinated is a good thing.

5. Russia’s April Retail Sales At Better Levels

            Russia reported the April retail sales above estimates as the pandemic situation cools down. Retail sales rose 34.7%   compared to last year and in month-on-month terms, it’s 0.3% up. President Vladimir Putin, said on Friday  Russia’s economy and employment are returning to pre-pandemic levels

6.  Another Elon Musk Tweet Takes Bitcoin Down

Bitcoin on Friday fell 7% after Elon Musk tweeted about Bitcoin along with a broken-heart emoji and a picture of a couple discussing a breakup. It is very common now whenever he tweets about a crypto coin, it makes a move, upward or downward and many get trapped.

7. BMW to Build 360,000 EV Charging Sites in China in Green Push

German automaker BMW is building 3.6 lakh Electric Vehicle charging sites in China this year. This move is to push more sales towards the world’s largest EV market that is China. According to BMW, plans are on to launch 12 all-electric BMW and Mini models in China by 2023. This is in line with President Xi Jinping’s goal to make China carbon neutral by 2060. Estimates say that EV sales in China may rise to 20% of total new car sales by 2025 from the current 5%.

8. Goldmann Sachs says China cannot win war against Metal Prices 

Analysts at both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Inc have said that China’s attempts to stop rally in metal prices will likely fail. The two agencies quoted supply shortages and high global demand as the reason. Although till now, China’s Department of Price has found some level of success in bringing down steel and coal prices down from high levels in May.

This fight between the government and basic economics is being watched by traders across the world. Because this will not only affect commodity prices but also, treasury bond yields and tech stocks as inflation fears remain high across the world.

9. China’s Tariff Wars Hurting Business and Revenues: Australian Exporters

We had discussed last day about China’s aggressive position against Australia after the island country launched investigations into where Covid-19’s originated.

Now exporters in Australia are feeling the heat. Normal operations with China are now said to be “impossible” with bad relations and high tariffs. China’s top diplomat for Australia has blamed Scott Morrison’s government for worsening ties, and accused the country for “provocations.” 

10. “Get A Shot, Have A Beer”: Biden’s Push To Boost Covid Vaccination Rate

Drink a beer, get yourself a haircut and get your Covid-19 vaccine. This is what U.S President Joe Biden announced yesterday in the country’s race to vaccinate 70% of the adult population by July 4th. “That’s right: get a shot, have a beer. Free beer for everyone 21 years or over to celebrate the independence from the virus,” President Joe Biden said in the speech announcing the campaign.

The White House has recruited big brewers like Anheuser-Busch to lead the operation, who will be distributing one free beer if the country hits the 70% target by July.

1. U.S Stocks Continue To Move Up; Markets Awaiting Key Data

U.S. equities are trying to gain back losses after new economic data. There are also reports that President Joe Biden may back a minimum 15% corporate tax from the current 28%. The dollar is getting stronger while gold fell.

Stoxx Europe is down 0.086%

Dow Jones is up 0.088%

NASDAQ is down 0.90%

2. Huawei Launches New ‘Harmony’ OS

Chinese company Huawei Technologies on Wednesday launched a new operating system for its smartphones, named Harmony, and will be considered also as an IoT platform. The new OS is a lifesaver for the company as the US has already banned Google from providing services and other assistance to Huawei.

3. Qatar’s Commercial Bank Offers To Raise  Stake In National Bank Of Oman

Qatar’s Commercial Bank said on Thursday they would like to buy an additional stake of 15.2% stake in the National Bank of Oman for Rs 934 crores. This will take the Commercial Bank’s total stake to 50.1% and make it the biggest shareholder of the National Bank of Oman.

4. World Food Price Index Reaches Highest Level Since 2011:  FAO

As per the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), food prices are rising across the world and the world food price index has reached the highest level since September 2011. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in May, 4.8 percent higher than in April, or only 7.6 percent below its all-time high.

5. America’s Jobless Claims Fall Again 

As per the latest report, America’s jobless claims fell to 3,85,000, for a fifth straight week. The Labour Department said Thursday that jobless claims dropped 20,000 from the week before and the US job market is regaining its power as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 situation

6. Situation Worsening At China’s Yantian Port: Shipping Companies

Many shipping Firms said the congestion situation is worsening at Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) in southern China after the implementation of new Covid restrictions. More than 40 container ships are already anchored in open water outside the terminal and the reports of infections among port staff bring uncertainty to the situation.

7. China will struggle to open up Economy Despite Vaccination

A top health official has said that China can’t begin to ease restrictions like the U.S even after vaccinating a high level of its population. Currently, China has no way of analyzing how well its vaccines will work in its mostly Covid-free population.

More than 40% of its citizens have been given at least one dose. China may have some “unique difficulties” and is unable to match the U.S.’s ability to examine the effectiveness of the vaccine by tracking real-time as cases and deaths reduced.

8. U.S. Increases Spending on Research to fight against China

Just like how the U.S started spending on their space programme when Soviet Russia launched Sputnik, the country is now spending more on technology. Congress is moving toward a plan to pump in about $190 billion into various tech-backed programs. Areas like artificial intelligence are in focus, with China being the main competition. 

9. AMC Exploits Rally to Sell Stock

AMC Entertainment Holdings short squeeze rally came to a halt on Thursday after the company said it wanted to sell more shares and raise hundreds of millions of dollars to support a cinema chain that was staring at potential bankruptcy only a few months ago. The shares have gone up from $9 on May 3rd to $63 yesterday.

10. Twitter unveils new paid subscription service in Canada for $3.49 a month

Canadians will be among the first Twitter users with access to a host of new features, but for the first time the offerings will come with a fee. The San Francisco-based tech giant unveiled Twitter Blue — its first paid subscription product — on Thursday. The long-rumoured offering will cost $3.49 a month and be available to iOS users in the country and Australia first before reaching the U.S. and international destinations later this year.