Tag: Top International news

1. U.S. Markets Move Down; Hiring Data Negative

Stocks in the U.S. market moved down with data showing a sharp slowdown in U.S. hiring data. Now traders are looking to understand if the Federal Reserve would delay their plans to slow economic stimulus.

Money was pumped in to technology stocks, while most other major groups in the S&P 500 fell. 

Stoxx Europe is down by 0.56%

Dow Jones is down by 0.29%

NASDAQ is up by 0.12%

U.S Reports Smallest Job Growth In Seven Months

The US Labor Department said that the number of new jobs fell to a seven-month low in August as the Covid infection rises. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 235,000 jobs in August, the smallest gain since January. But some other things are looking good, such as the unemployment rate dropped to a 17-month low at 5.2% and July job growth revised sharply higher. 

Ford, General Motors Weakens After Production Cut Decision

The shares of Ford and General Motors are trading down in NYSE on Friday after the companies decided to cut the production as the shortage of semiconductor chips continues. GM and Ford said on Thursday they have suspended the production at multiple plants for a few weeks.

City of Beijing To Take Didi Under State Control

Beijing’s municipal government has proposed to buy a stake in Didi Global that would allow the state to control the company. There are no clear indications on how large the investment will be and whether the proposal will be approved. At the time of writing the stock is more than 7% up on NYSE.

PagerDuty Rises On Improved Outlook

American cloud computing company PagerDuty jumped more than 10% on Friday in NYSE after it raised the revenue outlook. The company now expects the annual revenue at $274.5 million(Rs 2,000 crores) at the midpoint, a 2% rise from the previous forecast made in June. General Electric Company, Cisco, Netflix, Shopify, Zoom, and Lululemon Athletica are some of the major customers of the company.

Biden Says U.S. Economy Remains Strong 

U.S President Joe Biden said on Friday the U.S. economy remains strong, even though the job data is disappointing. He said the economic recovery is durable and strong, pushed by the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill. The fall in job data is caused by Covid Delta fear, but the measures implemented by the government have brought America out of an economic free-fall, he added.

Apple Decides To Delay Child Safety Updates After Privacy Complaints

Apple said on Friday it will delay the child safety updates and take more time to collect feedback after the rise in privacy complaints. The iPhone maker’s decision during last month to check U.S. customer phones and computers for child sex abuse images brought a lot of complaints from outside and even from its employees themselves. Apple will make changes in the system only after a deeper study on this issue.

Hyundai Motor To Use Internally Developed Chip For Upcoming Model

According to the reports from Seoul Economy Daily, the South Korean automaker Hyundai has plans to use an internally developed auto chip for one of its upcoming vehicles from next year. The semiconductor shortage has caused the halting of auto production globally and this development will reduce Hyudai’s dependency on other companies.

1. U.S. Markets Moving Up along with Global Peers

Stocks in the U.S. market moved up with jobs and other economic data coming out soon. The S&P 500 index traded near a record high with unemployment data giving good indications of economic growth. Monthly payrolls data is due on Friday.

The NASDAQ and S&P 500 traded near record highs today. Moderna moved up after filing initial data with the Food and Drug Administration for clearance of a third-dose of its Covid-19 vaccine.

Stoxx Europe is up by 0.23%

Dow Jones is up by 0.28%

NASDAQ is up by 0.33%

China To Continue Regulations On International Flights Till H1 2022

Air China Airline said it expects China’s aviation regulator to continue the current restrictions on international flights throughout the first half of 2022. This will affect tourism in the Asia-Pacific region as other countries are also having a low vaccination rate.

Russia To Fine Apple And Google Unless They Remove Navalny App

The Interfax news agency reported that Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor on Thursday decided to fine Apple and Google unless they removed an app created by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny from their stores. A Russian court declared Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation an extremist organization and banned it. Navalny’s allies have published news and blogs through the app after Roskomnadzor blocked their websites.

Ireland Imposes 225 Million Euro Fine On WhatsApp

Ireland on Thursday fined Facebook-owned- WhatsApp for a total of  225-million-euro (Rs 1,950 crores) fine for breaching EU data privacy laws. This is the largest fine ever imposed by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) and also the second-largest penalty under European Union data laws.

Qatar In Talks With Taliban To Reopen Kabul Airport

Qatar Foreign Minister on Thursday said the government is working with the Taliban to reopen Kabul’s airport as soon as possible. The airport is out of operation and most of its infrastructure is destroyed or degraded. “Hopefully in the next few days, we will hear some good news”, the Minister added.

World Food Prices Rise In August: FAO

The United Nations Food Agency said on Thursday the world food prices rose in August after declining in the previous two months. The jump was majorly seen in sugar, vegetable oils, and some cereals. The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also said in a statement that global cereal harvests would come in at nearly 2.788 billion tonnes in 2021, down on its previous estimate of 2.817 billion tonnes.

Bitcoin Moves Above $50,000 as Crypto Rallies

Bitcoin crossed the $50,000 level with the enter cryptocurrency market continuing its rally. Still, Bitcoin is nearly 25-28% below its April 2021 levels before the crypto crash.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose to $50,362 today. Ethereum, the second-largest crypto, rose 3% to $3,843, continuing a bull run after an update to the platform last month. 

1. U.S. Markets Playing Near All-Time Highs

Stocks in the U.S. market moved sideways with economic data coming out on the first day of September. Tech companies led gains as others moved down.

Data shows that manufacturing in America has expanded at a stronger-than-expected pace. June and July have shown strong hiring as restrictions on service industries were lifted, total U.S. employment is still about 6 million jobs below pre-pandemic levels.

Stoxx Europe is up by 0.48%

Dow Jones is down by 0.053%

NASDAQ is up by 0.65%

Walmart Decides To Hire 20,000 Supply Chain Workers

American retail firm Walmart said on Wednesday it has decided to hire 20,000 workers for the supply chain ahead of the busy holiday season. The decision is taken on the expectations of higher demands. Workers will be hired for more than 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club distribution centers, fulfillment centers, and transportation offices. The average wage for supply chain workers would be $20.37(RS 1,490)per hour, an increase compared to the previous announcement of $15.25(Rs 1,110) an hour average wage pay in February.

U.S. Private Payrolls Miss Estimates In August

According to the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday the U.S private companies hired lesser than expected employees in August. The private payrolls increased by 374,000 jobs in August and the data for July was revised down to show 326,000 jobs added instead of the initially reported 330,000. The analysts say that the U.S labor market is still in a recovery journey. 

Brazil’s GDP Contracts 0.1% In Q2

Brazilian statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday the country’s economy contracted 0.1% in the quarter ended June. This is a sharp decline compared to 1.2% growth in the first quarter. The drop in GDP is majorly caused by the second Covid wave that triggered strict restrictions in the country.

ParshipMeet Prepares For IPO In Next Year

Dating group ParshipMeet has started preparations for Initial Public Offering (IPO) next year as the major shareholders General Atlantic and ProSiebenSat.1 Media invited banks to pitch for roles in the listing. General Atlantic German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media holds 43% and 53% of shares in the company. Investment bank Evercore will be helping ParshipMeet’s shareholders with the IPO preparations.

Cathie Wood Buys $56.5 Million Share Of Zoom In Tuesday’s Fall

Major Investor Cathie Wood’s funds have bought $56.5 million worth of shares of Zoom Video Communications as the stock fell more than 15% on Tuesday. The fall was majorly caused by the company’s negative comments regarding the drop in demand. Ark Invest also bought Zoom shares for about $55 million. Today the Zoom shares are 3% up on NASDAQ.

Video-Game Developer ProbablyMonsters Raises $200 Million

Game developer ProbablyMonsters Inc has pulled off the largest first round of VC funding in the video-game industry. 

The $200 Million(~Rs 1,400 crores) funding was led by LKCM Headwater Investments, the private equity arm of Fort Worth, Texas-based Luther King Capital Management. 

1. U.S. Markets Playing Near All-Time Highs

Stocks stayed volatile near all-time highs with traders confused about the quick rally. The S&P 500 is now flat after hitting an all-time high for the 12th time in August. European shares moved down on the last day of the day with the Central Bank of Europe signalling reducing support for the economy.

Stoxx Europe is down by 0.51%

Dow Jones is up by 0.12%

NASDAQ is down by 0.11%

China’s Factory Activity Drops In August: Survey Says

According to a Survey report, China’s factory activity dropped in August, caused by the weakness in exports. Chinese investment bank CICC said that the slowdown in demand will continue and overall the manufacturing industry is going to show a steady slowdown. Factory and consumer activity have been affected by flooding in July and strict corona restrictions.

Taliban Cuts Off Telecom Network In Panjshir Province

Taliban has cut the telecom network in Panjshir province, the only region in Afghanistan that has not fallen to the Taliban. Residents of Panjshir said that the lack of phone and internet networks is causing serious issues. The Taliban has closed roads and other routes leading to Panjshir valley and this has skyrocketed the food prices in the province.

Zoom Video Falls As Demand Drops Faster

The stocks of Zoom Video Communications on Tuesday fell more than 15% in NASDAQ after the company stated about a faster-than-expected drop in demand. This has raised questions about the company’s plans as people return to the office. Zoom expects current-quarter revenue between $1.015 billion and $1.020 billion(Rs 7,293 crores), a rise of about 31%, a sharp fall in multiple-fold growth rates in 2020.

Canada’s Economy Drops Unexpectedly In The Second Quarter

According to the data from Statistics Canada on Tuesday, the country’s economy contracted 0.4% in July against a 0.7% gain in June. During the second quarter, the economy shrank 1.1% on an annualized basis. This is the first time the economy had dropped since the Q2 of 2020 when the first wave of COVID-19 peaked.

Dollar Falls To More Than Three-week Low

The dollar recorded its lowest level in more than three weeks against major currencies on Tuesday, as the path of U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy remains unclear. Investors are waiting for a round of U.S. data later this week to understand the strength of the labor market. The rupee is currently trading below 73 marks against the U.S Dollar.

Citigroup Moves Closer to Full Office Capacity in Hong Kong

Citigroup Inc. plans to raise the capacity in its Hong Kong office to the highest level since the pandemic began, joining other global banks in ratcheting up a back-to-office push in the Asian financial hub. Starting on Sept. 1, the bank will boost capacity in its offices to 90% from 75%, according to an internal memo which was confirmed by a spokesman.

Cathie Wood Has Bought Komatsu Almost Every Day Since Mid-August

Cathie Wood has been increasing her stake in Japanese construction machinery bellwether Komatsu Ltd. almost every day since the middle of this month. Wood’s Ark Autonomous Technology and Robotics ETF (ARKQ) bought American depository receipts of the excavator maker in most trading sessions since August 17, after selling some of the stock in May, according to Ark Investment Management’s daily trading data compiled by Bloomberg. Click here to read more about Cathie Wood.

South Korea Forces App Stores to Open Up

South Korea has now become the first country to force Apple and Google to open up their app stores to third-party payment systems.

The National Assembly passed a bill today that bans app store operators from forcing developers to use their online payment systems and instead allow users to pay through a variety of methods. The bill is expected to become a law as early as early September.

1. U.S. Markets Moves up Ahead of Fed Chairman Speech

Stocks in the U.S. market moved up after opening flat, ahead of the speech by Jerome Powell. Market participants are looking for clues from the Federal Reserve Chairman on when and how the country will slow down purchasing of bonds.

Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 moved up ahead of the speech, which investors are keenly looking out for. European stock index, the Stoxx Europe 600 index, also gained nearing the seventh straight month of closing in the green.

Stoxx Europe is up by 0.19%

Dow Jones is up by 0.43%

NASDAQ is up by 0.59%

China To Ban Overseas IPOs Of Some Tech Firms

According to the latest reports, China is preparing laws to ban tech companies whose data poses potential security risks from listing overseas countries. China’s government said last month it will supervise and regulate all firms listed offshore. The news laws aim to tighten scrutiny of overseas IPOs of companies that collect a larger amount of user’s data or create content that could pose possible security risks.

U.S. To Investigate Peloton’s Treadmill Injuries

American exercise equipment company Peloton Interactive said on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have opened an investigation over injuries from its exercise machines. Peloton recalled its Tread+ product in May, and this was just weeks after saying there were no issues in using the exercise machine. The stock is down by nearly 7% in NASDAQ.

U.S. Bond Funds See Higher Inflows In Week To Aug. 25: Lipper

According to Lipper data, the U.S. bond funds have witnessed a huge rise in net inflows to $7.47 billion(Rs 54,970 crores) in the week. This is a 16% increase from the previous week’s inflows and can be considered as a preventive measure because of the long-awaited speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Investors are waiting for what Chair Jerome Powell might say on Friday about stimulus tapering plans.

No Ongoing Risks To User Data From Recent Hack: T-Mobile

The third-largest U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said on Friday it was confident there were no continuing risks to user data from the hack that happened earlier this month. The company said last week that the personal data of more than 4 crore former and prospective customers and 78 lakh existing customers was stolen during the breach. But now the firm says more data leak has been found, taking the total number to 5.3 crores.

Oil Rises On Fear Of Storm At Gulf Of Mexico Production Hub

Oil prices rose on Friday because of the fear of supply disruptions as energy companies began shutting production in the Gulf of Mexico expecting a hurricane to hit soon. Brent Crude Oil is up by more than 1%. Brent Crude is already 11% up in the week, the biggest weekly jump since June 2020.

China Vaccine Shows 80%+ Effectiveness Against Serious Covid Cases

A new vaccine developed by China’s Chongqing Zhifei Biological has shown an 82% effectiveness against serious cases of Covid-19 infections. This vaccine is expected to help the world’s largest population complete its vaccination drive. 

China’s current vaccines including Sinopharm are regarded as a flop by the international community, failing to produce necessary antibodies even after 2 doses.

Markets Fall Ahead of Federal Reserve’s Comments; Kabul Explosion

Stocks in the U.S. market moved down after opening in green with an explosion outside the Kabul airport triggering panic in the market. The market is also waiting for signals from the Federal Reserve’s meeting to be held tonight.

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 both crashed in panic as the U.S. attempted to evacuate the area around Kabul airport after two explosions. Jobless claims and annualized gross domestic product(GDP) numbers slightly missed estimates.

Stoxx Europe is down by 0.41%

Dow Jones is down by 0.35%

NASDAQ is down by 0.63%

Japan Suspends 1.6 Million Doses Of Moderna Vaccine On Contamination Reports

Japan on Thursday suspended the use of 16.3 lakh doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and this is due to the contamination reports received by the domestic distributor. Currently, no safety issues had been found but the suspension is just a precaution. Many Japanese companies have canceled the worker vaccinations planned for Thursday.

Facebook To Form A Commission For Election-related Advices

According to the latest reports, Facebook is planning to form a Commission to advise it on global election-related matters and the firm has approached academics and policy experts for this. The proposed commission is expected to have powers to decide on matters such as the viability of political ads and what to do about election-related misinformation.

Taiwan Semi To Raise CHip Price By 10-20%

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company(TSMC), a Taiwan based semiconductor manufacturing and design company has decided to raise the price of its semiconductor chips by 10-20%, depending on the type. This could raise the company’s revenue growth rate by roughly 5%. Big names including AMD, Apple, ARM, Broadcom, Marvell, MediaTek, and Nvidia are the customers of TSMC.

German Publisher To Acquire News Website Politico

German publisher Axel Springer said on Thursday it has decided to acquire U.S based political news website-Politico, as a part of global network expansion. The deal amount is expected to be around $1 billion(Rs 7,412 crores). Axel Springer already has a perfect portfolio of news outlets including BILD, WELT, INSIDER, and it already has a presence in more than 40 countries.

Forbes To Go Public Through A SPAC Merger

The publisher of the Forbes magazine, Forbes Global Media Holdings said on Thursday it is planning to go public through a merger with Magnum Opus Acquisition that values the combined entity at $630 million(Rs 4670 crores). SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies) are investment vehicles used by investors to raise money in an IPO by merging with a private company, which becomes public as a result. Forbes will be listed on the NYSE(New York Stock Exchange) under the symbol ‘FRBS’.

Evergrande EV Stock Loses $80 Billion in Market Cap

China’s property developer Evergrande Group’s electric vehicle unit shares crashed in Hong Kong today. Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group shares dropped more than 22% in the Hong Kong exchange.

The fall wiped out nearly $80 Billion(~Rs 5.92 lakh crores) from Evergrande’s most valuable listed subsidiary. This came after the company reported nearly (~Rs 3,500 crores) in the first half of the year.

Explosion Near Kabul Airport Causes Casualties

An explosion near one of the main entrance gates to Kabul’s international airport caused an unknown number of casualties less than a week before President Joe Biden’s deadline for the departure of U.S. forces. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed the blast on Thursday afternoon Kabul time, and said more information would be coming soon. 

Markets Consolidate; Waiting for Fed Remarks

Stocks in the U.S. market moved slightly higher on the third day of the week. The markets are mostly consolidating, awaiting for remarks from the Federal Reserve’s meeting at Jackson Hole. 

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 are trading with small gains after both touching all-time highs yesterday. European markets are also cautious and consolidating.

Stoxx Europe is down by 0.085%

Dow Jones is up by 0.22%

NASDAQ is up by 0.004%

Xiaomi Reports Solid Revenue For The Second Quarter

Chinese electronics company Xiaomi on Wednesday reported a 64% rise in revenue at 87.8 billion yuan(Rs 1,00,646 crores) in the second quarter compared to last year. The net income jumped 87.4% year on year to 6.32 billion yuan(Rs 7,244 crores). The results are above analyst expectations and are powered by the growth in the global phone market.

Credit Suisse Asks Unvaccinated U.S. Staff To Work From Home

Investment and financial services firm Credit Suisse said on Wednesday it has asked all the non-vaccinated U.S staff to work from home and will be in effect from September 7. The decision is taken in favor of the staff because of concerns about the Covid-19 Delta variant. The new change is against the company’s ‘return to office’ plans and is expected to continue till October 18.

Johnson & Johnson Says Covid-19 Booster Dose Increases Antibodies

Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday according to interim data from two early-stage trials, the levels of antibodies sharply increased after the booster dose of the J&J Covid-19 vaccine.  A single 2nd dose of the vaccine resulted in binding antibody levels nine times higher compared to the levels 28 days after people received their first dose.

Indonesian Politicians Get Boosters As Most People Remain Unvaccinated

Indonesian Military Chief Hadi Tjahjanto and East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor said they have received the third shots of the Covid-vaccine and think that this is at a time when most of the people haven’t received even their first shots. Currently, the healthcare workers are the only ones getting booster shots and 78% of Indonesia’s 27 crore population remain unvaccinated.

National Bank Of Canada Beat Estimated Results

National Bank of Canada reported on Wednesday the net income excluding one-off items jumped to C$839 million (Rs 4,941 crores) for the second quarter ended July. The bank said they are witnessing a strong performance across business segments compared with a year earlier. The adjusted income before provisions for credit losses and income taxes rose to C$1.09 billion(Rs 6,300 crores) from C$947 million(Rs 5,473 crores) last year.

China Eyes Afghan’s Wealth in Deal with Taliban

Afghanistan has a mineral that the world needs desperately in its race towards a future filled with Electric Vehicles and what not. The country, now controlled by Taliban, is said to have  deposits worth $1 trillion(~Rs 74 lakh crores) or more of rare minerals including the world’s largest lithium reserves. 

Afghan has a small border crossing with China, and the world’s second largest economy is trying to capitalise on this. According to a former senior colonel at the People’s Liberation Army of China, “With the U.S. withdrawal, China can offer what Kabul needs most: political impartiality and economic investment”.

Ace Investor Cathy Woods Bullish on China

American investor and CEO of Ark Investments, Cathie Wood, said she’s optimistic about China in the long-run. In an interview with Bloomberg, she remarked that even though the government is maintaining a tight grip on companies, they will not continue to do the same forever if growth slows.

Ark Investments were among the many ‘big-fish’ which went on a hunting mood in the fall of tech stocks last week. A firm under Ark was revealed to have bought a good stake in JD.com on Monday in its fall.

Markets Move Cautiously; Near All-Time Highs

General equities in the U.S. market stayed slightly in the green with money flowing into Chinese stocks in the market. Alibaba is up 5% and JD.com is up 10% in the New York Stock Exchange, after the stocks recovered in Hong Kong today.

Market participants, especially investors, are looking for more signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve on how they will begin to scale back their monetary support to the economy. European markets are in the red, but NASDAQ and S&P 500 are in the green

Stoxx Europe is down by 0.25%

Dow Jones is up by 0.22%

NASDAQ is up by 0.35%

Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory May Be Wrong, A Group Of Scientists Says

According to a group of global scientists, it is very unlikely that the Covid-19 originated from lab accidents. It’s more probable that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was passed from an infected animal to a human at a live animal market in Wuhan. Stephen Goldstein, an author of the paper also said the discussion over the origins of the pandemic has become politicized and heated. China has been under a lot of pressure due to the issue and this may dilute the situation.

Japan Adopts Interim Plan For Fukushima Nuclear Water Release

Japan’s government adopted an interim plan on Tuesday that is aimed for a planned release into the sea of treated but still radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. The government is expecting to receive supports from fishermen and other concerned groups on the plan. The government has decided to buy fisheries products and freeze them for temporary storage to tackle the negative rumors about the discharge.

Ukraine, Iran Denies Reports On Evacuation Plane Hijacking 

According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper both Ukraine and Iran have denied the reports of hijacking the Ukrainian evacuation plane from Afghanistan. Earlier today, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Yevgeny Yenin said that a Ukrainian plane was hijacked in Afghanistan by unidentified people who flew it into Iran. It is now said that Yenin was only generally explaining the level of difficulties that diplomats had to face in evacuating Ukrainians. 

68% Of Japan’s Small-Mid Firms Are Having Pre Covid Level Sales: Survey

According to a survey released by credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research on Tuesday, the sales of around 68% of small and medium-sized Japanese companies in July are lower compared to the month of pre-pandemic 2019. Japan has been pumping trillions of yen into the private sector since the start of the pandemic, but 57% of the companies said they no longer needed emergency injections of cash. 

Best Buy Revises Outlook Again

American consumer electronics retailer Bey Buy has revised its forecast again after posting better than expected second-quarter results. The firm is expecting enterprise comparable sales to grow in 9%-11% 2022 from the previous outlook of 3%-6%. The CEO Corie Barry said the customer demand for technology products and services are very strong as people are looking for solutions that help them work, learn, entertain, cook and connect at home

Samsung to hire 40,000 Workers over next 3 years

South Korea’s Samsung Group has unveiled a 240 Trillion Won(~$Rs 14.80 lakh crore) in their new projected expansion plan. The company plans on hiring 40,000 people over three years.

The largest company from the country is looking to cement its lead in the technology sector with these investments. Samsung Electronics and other subsidiaries including Samsung Biologics will spend their budgets to lead research and spending in areas from telecommunications and robotics to corporate acquisitions. 

Crude Oil Jumps Again with Fires in Mexico

Oil prices continued its second day of bouncing back. The commodity is on its biggest two-day gains in many months, with hopes of increasing demands. China has brought down local coronavirus to zero. Also, a fire on a Mexican oil platform has created a supply shortage.

West Texas Intermediate(WTI) Crude prices in New York have reached $67/barrel, up 2.4% in the day. Fun fact, WTI Crude is still down 12% from the July price levels but petrol prices in India are still the same. What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments of the marketfeeed app.

Markets Climb Back Up after Dip 

Stocks in the U.S. market rebounded after the dip yesterday when the Federal Reserve had announced it would start scaling back its monetary support for the economy.

Tech companies are leading today’s bounce back with NASDAQ more than 1% up.

Stoxx Europe is up by 0.30%

Dow Jones is up by 0.76%

NASDAQ is up by 1%

Australia Announces Night Curfew In Sydney

Australia on Friday has announced a night curfew in Sydney from next week as Covid cases rise. Australia shows clear indications of a third Covid wave, centered on Sydney. The curfew will be from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and will take effect from Monday. Those who don’t follow the rules will be fined and have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Global Market Share Of Korean Automobile Companies Reaches 8%

The global market share of Korean companies rose by 0.6 percent from 7.4 percent in the first six months of 2019 to 8% in the first half of this year. The companies have. sold 22,97,000 units globally during the first half of 2021 against  23,03,000 units sold in the first half of 2019.

Sputnik V- AstraZeneca Mix Shows Positive Result: RDIF

The Russian Direct Investment Fund(RDIF) said on Friday a small-scale study into the combined use of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine shows positive results. The study was conducted first in 20 participants and preliminary data shows antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein (S-protein) elicited in 100% of cases.

J&J CEO Alex Gorsky To Step Down 

The world’s biggest healthcare product maker Johnson & Johnson said on Friday Alex Gorsky will soon step down as the CEO and Chairman of the company.  The current Vice-Chairman of J&J’s executive committee, Joaquin Duato will become the CEO and a member of the company’s board of directors on January 3. 

Auto Production Will Drop DUe To Chip Shortage: IHS Markit

IHS Markit said the semiconductor shortage will affect the auto sector globally and there will be a drop of 71 lakhs in production. The situation will continue till the second quarter of 2021, but expecting some recovery in the second half of next year. Many countries are lagging far behind the vaccination drive target, which will in turn affect the supply chain.

Hong Kong falls into Bear Market

The Hang Seng, the bechmark index of Hong Kong has entered a ‘technical’ bear market. The markets have been in a sell-off node after China’s crackdown on tech, educational and multiple other sectors.

Hang Seng fell more than 1.8% today with the total fall in 6 months being above 20%. 

U.S Markets Volatile Ahead of Fed Meeting Report 

Stocks in the U.S. markets stayed volatile as traders stayed cautious ahead of the latest Federal Reserve meeting report.

The S&P 500 stayed flat while energy shares fell. Tesla rallied with the company bouncing back from a three-day selling. However, general indices are waiting for cues about inflation, interest rates and more from the Federal Reserve.

Stoxx Europe is up by 0.076%

Dow Jones is down by 0.11%

NASDAQ is down by 0.043%

Tencent Reports 20% Rise In Q2 Sales

Tencent reported a 20% rise in sales to 138.3 billion yuan (Rs 1,58,470 crores) for the three months ended June, in line with the 138.2 billion yuan average forecast. Net income is at 42.6 billion yuan(Rs 31,6495 crores) against the forecast of 30.8 billion yuan(2,28,827) supported by a gain of more than 20 billion yuan(Rs 1,48,589 crores) on its investments around the world. 

Afghan Minister Requests Interpol To Arrest Ashraf Ghani 

Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi on Wednesday urged Interpol to arrest President Ashraf Ghani for escaping from Afghanistan and “selling out the motherland”. The Afghan embassy in Tajikistan also asked Interpol to detain Ghon on embezzlement charges.

Geely Automobile Holdings Warns Of Chip Shortage

China’s Geely Automobile Holdings on Wednesday warned of a short-term global chip shortage, but the company kept its annual sales target. Geely made revenue of 45 billion yuan in the first six months of 2021 and will be having multiple product launches in the coming months. The sales are up by 19% to 630,237 cars, but below a 27% growth in China’s overall passenger vehicle sales.

No More Late Fees For Buy Now, Pay Later Purchases: PayPal

PayPal Holdings on Wednesday announced it will no longer charge late fees for late payments on buy now, pay later products. The new decision will be in effect from October 1 and through this, the company expects to make its products more affordable and attractive for consumers.