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Saudi Invests INR 9,600 cr in Reliance Retail – Top 10 Global News

1. Tech Rebound Powers U.S. Stocks Higher

Stocks rallied globally as investors rushed back into technology and health-care firms on bets that the U.S. election results will trigger no major tax hikes or regulatory changes that would derail these sectors. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped another 2.6% after the underlying index surged on Wednesday when the vote count failed to produce a clear Democratic sweep as some had expected. The reduced likelihood of a multi-trillion-dollar stimulus package in a divided Congress helped pushed the dollar down the most versus the euro since March. Increases in tech shares and some strong corporate results lifted the Stoxx Europe 600 index. 

Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased 1.8% as of early morning New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.9%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 2.5%.

2. Biden’s Wins in Michigan, Wisconsin Put Him on Brink of Victory

Joe Biden stood on the brink of claiming the presidency from Donald Trump on Thursday, with a handful of states expecting to complete their vote counts despite Republicans opening legal fights to stop counting in at least two states. Biden held 264 Electoral College votes out of the 270 needed to win the White House, according to the Associated Press. Trump has 214. Biden needs only to win an additional outstanding state, such as Nevada, where he is narrowly leading, or Georgia, where his campaign believes mailed votes will push him over the top. He also likely needs to hold Arizona, which the Associated Press has called in his favor but which the Trump campaign says it can still win. A Biden win in Pennsylvania could also clinch the race.

3. More Americans Than Forecasted Apply for Jobless Benefits

More Americans than expected filed for state unemployment benefits last week, underscoring continued churn in a labour market that continues to recover only gradually. Initial jobless claims in regular state programs totalled 751,000 in the week ended Oct. 31, down from an upwardly revised 758,000 in the prior week, Labor Department data showed Thursday. Continuing claims – or the total number of Americans claiming ongoing state unemployment assistance – fell by 538,000 to 73 lakh in the week ended Oct. 24, the sixth straight decline. Still, the number of people claiming support in a federal program that offers extended assistance increased as more Americans exhausted their regular state benefits.

4. Saudis Cut Oil Prices for Asia as Virus Clouds Energy Market

Saudi Arabia cut most oil pricing for its customers in Asia and the U.S. as a resurgence in the coronavirus clouds the outlook for energy markets. State producer Saudi Aramco decreased December pricing for shipments of Arab Light crude to Asia, its largest regional market. Oil dropped around 10% last week as European nations including Germany and France announced new lockdowns and daily virus cases hit a record in the U.S. While crude has since recovered most of those losses, the market continues to face headwinds, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said.

5. Saudi Arabia’s PIF Invests About $1.3 Billion in Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF, plans to invest about $1.3 billion (INR 9600 cr) in Mukesh Ambani’s retail unit as Asia’s richest man continues to add marquee backers in a fundraising spree. The sovereign wealth fund will pick a 2.04% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. The stake sale values India’s largest retailer at about $62.4 billion (INR 4.62 lakh cr). This will be the third investment for PIF into Reliance, helmed by Ambani, as he seeks to transform the company into a retail and technology behemoth and pivot away from its staple oil-refining business that he inherited in 2002.

6. TikTok’s Parent ByteDance Seeks to Raise Cash at $180 Billion Valuation

ByteDance is in discussions to raise $2 billion (INR 14,800 cr) before listing some of its businesses in Hong Kong, even as it seeks to avoid a ban on its TikTok service in the U.S. The Chinese company is in talks with a group of investors including Sequoia over funding that would boost its valuation to $180 billion. ByteDance could then start preparing some of its biggest assets including Douyin and Toutiao for an IPO in Hong Kong. The company was previously valued at $140 billion. ByteDance, already the world’s most valuable startup, is in the throes of fighting a Trump administration ban on TikTok in the U.S. after the video service was labelled a national security threat.

7. Bitcoin Extends Rally With Chart Watchers Eyeing $20,000

Bitcoin is in rally mode once more. Whether it’s uncertainty from the U.S. election, the future of the pandemic or simply more investor interest, the cryptocurrency is at the highest level since January 2018. Bitcoin was up 3.3% at $14,463 (INR 10.7 lakh). The digital currency has been benefiting from high-profile investments from the likes of Square Inc. and Paul Tudor Jones. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s JPM Coin was reportedly used to make a payment for the first time. Proponents argue bitcoin can be a diversifier in times of uncertainty, so events like lockdowns across Europe or delays of U.S. election results could be fueling its rise.

8. Indonesia slumps into first recession since the 1998 Asian crisis

Indonesia fell into recession for the first time in more than 20 years in the third quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic battered consumption and business activity in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 3.49% on an annual basis in the July-September period, data from the statistics bureau showed, slightly more than the 3% contraction expected. The economy contracted 5.32% year-on-year in the second quarter. The government says its economy is showing signs of improvement, but analysts say they see more weakness over the coming months.

9. IBM unveils cloud for 5G telcos, gets Nokia and Samsung as partners

International Business Machines Corp on Thursday became the latest U.S. technology company to launch a cloud platform directed at telecom operators deploying 5G and signed up Nokia and Samsung as partners. A cloud platform uses software instead of physical equipment to do network functions, helping telecom operators to build 5G networks faster, reduce costs and sell customised services to business clients. The U.S. government has been pushing big U.S. companies to get more involved with 5G – a technology which promises to enable everything from self-driving cars to remote surgery and more automated manufacturing. Companies such as Microsoft and Amazon have launched their own cloud platforms targeting telecom operators. IBM will supply services to its telecom partners to run their networks and also to assist them in selling custom products to their customers

10. Dutch bank ING to cut 1,000 jobs by the end of next year as virus crisis hits

Dutch bank ING said Thursday it will shed 1,000 jobs by the end of 2021 and close offices in South America and Asia as the coronavirus pandemic hits the global economy. The job losses come despite “resilient” third-quarter results, with profits down 41.4% and revenue down 7.3%, the bank said in a statement. “The pandemic continues to have a significant impact everywhere, with the second wave in Europe and the US putting further pressure on consumers and businesses,” ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk said. ING is the Netherlands’ number one bank, employing 53,000 people in more than 40 countries.

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Red Pill or Blue Bill: US Elections – Top 10 Global News

1. Stocks Surge and Dollar Drops on U.S. Election Day

Stocks rallied with U.S. futures on Tuesday as a gust of optimism swept through global equity markets with millions of Americans headed to vote.While trades reflecting a Democratic sweep held firm, betting markets weren’t convinced. Traders hedged prospects of post-vote volatility, driving a measure of expected swings in China’s yuan to its highest level in more than nine years. In Europe, mining shares climbed, helped by the slumping dollar. Banks rallied and joined its European peers in posting lower-than-expected bad-loan provisions from the pandemic.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 1.2% as of early morning New York time.

Nasdaq 100 Index futures advanced 0.7%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 1.7%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1%.

2. Americans Face Stark Choice as Election Day 2020 Dawns

Election Day 2020 is underway and for American voters the choices couldn’t be more stark. Donald Trump was a novelty four years ago, a reality television star and real estate developer with a penchant for bombast and Twitter insults. The 74-year-old president has erased any notion that the Oval Office would tame him, thrilling Republicans by cutting regulations and taxes, restricting immigration and appointing three Supreme Court justices. Joe Biden, 77, passed on a chance to run in 2016 but said Trump’s reaction to racial protests in Virginia the following year convinced him to return to politics. After lagging in the primaries, the former vice president emerged as a unity candidate, portraying himself as a man of decency who would listen to scientists fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, restore America’s overseas alliances and confront climate change. The election entered its final day on Tuesday with a record-shattering 100 million votes already cast. It’s taking place amid a third deadly wave in the pandemic, warnings about renewed foreign interference and a political environment even more polarized than in 2016, with both sides warning that a vote for the other risks plunging the country into ruin.

3. China Suspends Jack Ma’s Ant Group Shanghai IPO

China has suspended the Shanghai leg of Ant Group Co.’s $35 billion offering, potentially derailing the world’s biggest IPO. The Shanghai stock exchange will suspend the listing amid changes in the regulatory environment.  The shock move comes after China’s regulators warned that Jack Ma’s firm faces increased scrutiny and will be subject to the same restrictions on capital and leverage as banks. Ma, Ant’s billionaire co-founder, was summoned to a rare joint meeting on Monday with the country’s central bank and three other top financial regulators.

4. China Wages Trade War to ‘Punish’ Australia

What started as a political spat between Beijing and Canberra has become a one-sided trade war that threatens serious disruption for an expanding number of Australian exporters. China won’t allow imports of a swathe of Australian commodities and foodstuffs from as early as this week. The curbs are a major escalation in Beijing’s pressure campaign following a two-year stand-off over issues from technology to the origins of coronavirus. China’s blacklist — delivered verbally to commodities traders — includes coal, barley, copper, sugar, timber, wine and lobster. It doesn’t cover materials, like iron ore or natural gas, where import curbs could unduly damage China’s own economy.

5. Billionaire Adani Set to Develop Sri Lanka’s Port Terminal

India’s Adani Group is the front-runner to develop Sri Lanka’s stalled East Container Terminal in Colombo port, helping billionaire Gautam Adani expand his port business overseas. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. and a local partner received an in-principle approval to sign a deal with Sri Lanka Ports Authority, which will hold majority stake in the project. Details of the stake-holding are still being worked out after a review of the project following labor protests that had stalled the deal before parliamentary elections in August. Adani, India’s biggest ports and logistics company, had signed a preliminary agreement for the project last year.

6. Microsoft to Join $100 Million Investment in Indonesia’s Bukalapak

Microsoft has agreed to join a $100 million investment in Indonesian online marketplace PT Bukalapak.com. The U.S. company confirmed it was making a strategic investment in Bukalapak in a joint statement on Tuesday, though it didn’t disclose the amount. Under the partnership, Bukalapak will adopt Microsoft’s Azure as its preferred cloud platform to support its more than 1.2 crore merchants and 10 crore customers. U.S. tech giants are increasingly turning their attention to Indonesia, seeking to tap a rapidly growing smartphone population in the world’s fourth most-populous country. 

7. Singapore Stocks Post Biggest Gain in Five Months on Biden Victory Hopes

One of Asia’s worst-performing stock markets got some respite on Tuesday ahead of the U.S. presidential poll as investors gear up for a Biden win. The Straits Times Index closed up 2.2%, its biggest rise in five months, and climbed the most among all major indexes in Asia Pacific. All 30 stocks were in the green, with industrials, property and banking shares among the top gainers as investors bought into the gauge dominated by old-economy sectors. All polls are predicting a Biden win so this is investors positioning themselves.

8. Slumping oil demand, prices drive Saudi Aramco profit 44.6% lower

Saudi state oil giant says it will maintain its quarterly dividend payment, most of which goes to the government. Aramco has reported sharply lower earnings as crude prices slide while countries once again impose measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The company, which launched the world’s biggest-ever public IPO sale last December, on Tuesday reported a 44.6% drop in third-quarter net profit. Weaker refining and chemicals margins have also hit the company’s net profit.

9. Cash-strapped Oman plans income tax on wealthy starting 2022

To tackle a growing budget deficit, Oman is to break with the long-standing practice among Gulf Arab states and tax the income of wealthy individuals starting 2022. Cash-strapped Oman plans to take a step unheard of in the Persian Gulf region: It’s going to start taxing the income of wealthy individuals beginning in 2022, as part of a broader program to tackle a budget deficit that’s ballooned due to low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic. By reducing government spending while spurring investments, the plan is projected to bring the budget deficit – estimated to reach nearly 19% of gross domestic product in 2020 by the International Monetary Fund – to 1.7% by 2024, the Ministry of Finance said on Sunday.

10. UAE non-oil private sector shrinks for the second time in three months

The United Arab Emirates’ non-oil private sector slipped back into contraction in October for the second time in three months, stunting the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Companies continued to shed jobs for the 10th consecutive month amid concerns that costs would eclipse revenues, though October’s fall in employment was softer than the average for the year to date. The seasonally adjusted UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which covers manufacturing and services, fell to 49.5 in October from 51.0 in September, slipping below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction for the seventh month this year.

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EU to UK: “Don’t take the cake and eat it too” – Top10 Global News

Boris Johnson visits a community shop...Mayor of London, Boris Johnson eats a bacon sandwich as he visits the cafe at the Community Shop in west Norwood, London where he met volunteers and staff and publicised the Mayor's High Street Fund.

1. Treasuries Slump With Dollar Amid Stimulus Bets

Treasuries slid alongside the dollar amid speculation that Washington lawmakers will make progress on talks for stimulus legislation to be financed by trillion-dollar borrowing. U.S. stocks were little changed. The U.S. 10-year treasury yield broke above 0.8% to the highest since June and European yields also rose after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed hope for political compromise on a bill this week. The S&P 500 fluctuated. Netflix Inc. tumbled after missing subscriber estimates. Tesla Inc. was mixed before financial results later Wednesday, and social-media company Snapchat soared after an earnings beat. European stocks slumped for a third day.

The S&P 500 Index fell less than 0.1% as of early morning New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.9%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7%.

2. IMF cuts Asia’s growth forecast, warns of pandemic-driven risks

The International Monetary Fund slashed this year’s economic forecast for Asia, reflecting a sharper-than-expected contraction in countries like India, a sign the coronavirus pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the region. While the IMF upgraded next year’s growth forecast, it warned the recovery will be sluggish and patchy with countries dependent on tourism seen taking a particularly hard hit.

The IMF said it expects Asia’s economy to contract 2.2% this year. That decline is 0.6% higher than its forecast in June, due to sharp slumps in countries like India, the Philippines and Malaysia. India’s economy is likely to shrink 10.3% this year in stark contrast to China, which is set to expand 1.9%.

3. EU to UK on Brexit talks: ‘You can’t have cake, eat it too’

The European Union took a defiant tone on Wednesday as the standoff over resuming post-Brexit trade negotiations with the United Kingdom intensified, telling London that “you cannot have your cake and eat it too.” European Council President Charles Michel refused to bow to British insistence for the EU to fundamentally change its negotiating stance and cede more to U.K. demands. Michel said instead that if Britain wants vast access to the 27-member bloc’s markets, it will equally have to keep its waters open to EU fishermen, something the UK government has said it doesn’t want to do.

4. China urges Sweden to reverse its Huawei, ZTE ban to avoid backlash on Swedish companies in China

Sweden should reverse its ban on Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE from a planned 5G spectrum auction to avoid a “negative impact” on its own companies, said China’s foreign ministry. “China expresses strong dissatisfaction with Sweden,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, speaking at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

“Sweden should uphold an objective and fair attitude, and correct its wrong decision, to avoid bringing a negative impact to China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation and the operations of Swedish enterprises in China,” said Zhao.

5. UK borrowing exceeds forecasts, debt highest since 1960

Britain’s government borrowing exceeded forecasts in September and over the first half of the financial year was more than six times higher than a year earlier, due to the huge cost of the coronavirus pandemic. Public sector net borrowing totalled 36 billion pounds  (3.5 lakh cr INR) last month.Driven by a surge in coronavirus-related spending and a fall in tax revenue after the biggest economic hit since at least the 1920s, borrowing in the first half of the financial year broke through the roof.

6. Australian watchdog considers its own Google antitrust case after US sues search giant

Australia’s competition watchdog will consider its own antitrust case against Google, the commission chairman said Wednesday after the U.S. Justice Department sued the company for abusing its dominance in online search and advertising. Sims is drafting legislation to address the imbalance in bargaining power between Google and the Australian media businesses that want the tech giant to pay for journalism. The bills, that will be ready to be introduced to Parliament by December, would empower an arbitrator to make binding decisions on how much Google and Facebook must pay media companies for news content.

Google has said the proposed laws would result in “dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube,” put free services at risk and could lead to users’ data “being handed over to big news businesses.” Facebook has warned it might block Australian news content rather than pay for it.

7. Dubai leads major Gulf markets higher in early trade

Most major Gulf stock markets were in positive territory early on Wednesday, led by financial stocks, with Dubai’s index boosted by gains in DAMAC Properties. Dubai’s main share index rose 0.7%, buoyed by a 14.4% surge in DAMAC Properties as investors hunted for bargains. There has been speculation about possible plans to take the company private but no final decision has been taken yet. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 0.3%, with Al Rajhi Bank rising 0.6% and petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries increasing 0.7%.

8. Israel, UAE agree to visa-free travel as ties deepen

Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to visa-free travel on Monday, an unprecedented arrangement between Israel and an Arab state, signed as the first ever official UAE delegation landed in Tel Aviv. The visit, hailed as a “glorious day for peace” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, came after Israel and the UAE agreed to normalise ties in a deal inked at the White House last month. With their economies hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the UAE and Israel are hoping for rapid dividends from the normalisation deal – which broke years of Arab consensus that there should be no relations with the Jewish state until it makes peace with the Palestinians.

9. Jack Ma’s Ant Receives China Approval for IPO in Shanghai

Jack Ma’s Ant Group got the green light from China’s securities watchdog for its initial public offering in Shanghai, clearing another hurdle as the Chinese fintech giant tries to complete its share sale before the U.S. election. China’s securities regulator approved the listing on Shanghai’s STAR market. Ant is said to have earlier won approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for an IPO. Ant is seeking to raise $35 billion in a dual listing, with about half coming in Hong Kong and the other half in Shanghai. Ant’s IPO could be the world’s biggest, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s record $29 billion sale last year.

10. China Will Likely See Positive Economic Growth for 2020

China will likely post positive economic growth for the full year and the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to stabilize in 2021 after debt climbed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese central bank governor said. Data this week showed GDP rose 4.9% in the third quarter from a year ago, putting China in line to be the only major economy to expand this year after bringing the pandemic under control. At the same time, debt has climbed, reaching 269.2% of GDP last quarter. The macro leverage ratio — the percentage of debt in households, non-financial enterprises and governments to total gross domestic product — “has increased this year due to the fight against the pandemic.”