Biz O'Clock (2024)

13/01/2023

Europe's largest deposit of rare earths - which are used from mobile phones to missiles - has been found in Sweden.

No rare earths are mined in Europe at the moment and a Swedish minister hailed the find as a way of reducing the EU's dependence on China.

The discovery is also being seen as "decisive" for the green transition, given the expected rise in demand for electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Some 98% of rare earths used in the EU in 2021 were imported from China.

Over one million tonnes are reported to have now been found in Sweden's far north.

(Source : BBC)

$Stock futures were fractionally lower in early premarket trading Friday as investors braced for big bank earnings to com...$

13/01/2023

Stock futures were fractionally lower in early premarket trading Friday as investors braced for big bank earnings to commence.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 44 points, or 0.13%. S&P 500 futures just below the flatline while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.17%.

(Source : CNBC)

13/01/2023

Tesla (TSLA.O) has slashed prices on its electric vehicles in the United States and Europe by as much as 20%, extending a strategy of aggressive discounting after missing Wall Street estimates for 2022 deliveries.

The move, which prompted a 3.8% fall in Tesla's shares in Frankfurt, came after CEO Elon Musk warned that the prospect of recession and higher interest rates meant it could lower vehicle pricing to sustain volume growth at the expense of profit.

(Source : Reuters)

12/01/2023

Collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX has located more than $5bn (£4.1bn) of assets, an attorney for the firm says.

However, a US bankruptcy court was told on Wednesday that the extent of losses to customers is still not known.

Prosecutors have accused FTX's former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried of orchestrating an "epic" fraud that may have cost investors, customers and lenders billions of dollars.

Mr Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges that he cheated investors.

(Source : BBC)

12/01/2023

A su***de bomb attack outside the Afghan foreign ministry in Kabul has caused heavy casualties.

Police said at least five civilians had been killed but another Taliban official put the toll as high as 20.

The local offshoot of the Islamic State group, known as Isis-K, claimed it carried out the attack.

It comes after recent blasts targeting foreign interests. Several countries, including Turkey and China, have embassies in the area.

The attack took place about 16:00 local time (11:30 GMT) when the bomber tried, but failed to enter the ministry building itself, the Taliban said.

(Source : BBC)

12/01/2023

Peru was rocked by further unrest Wednesday as demonstrators blocked roads and held mass funerals for those killed in violent protests that have gripped the country, as the United States called for "restraint" on both sides.

(Source : FRANCE 24)

11/01/2023

President Biden on Tuesday defended his handling of the border and thanked his Mexican counterpart for a willingness to accept asylum seekers rejected by the United States during a period of what he called “the greatest migration in human history” across the region.

In remarks at the end of a two-day summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, Mr. Biden dismissed criticism from Republicans, Democrats and humanitarian groups, calling them the “extremes” and saying he was pursuing a middle ground in his approach to immigration.

(Source : The New York Times)

11/01/2023

Asia-Pacific shares traded mostly higher as investors looked ahead to the U.S. consumer price index, which would set the Federal Reserve’s trajectory in its attempt to tackle inflation after raising rates seven times in 2022.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.90% to close at 7,195.3. Its consumer price index rose 7.3% year-on-year in November, a sign that inflationary pressures have yet to slow.

(Source : CNBC)

11/01/2023

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing Co Ltd (9983.T) on Wednesday said it would raise wages by as much as 40%, a clear sign that Japan's rock-bottom salaries may be starting to budge after decades of deflation and cost-cutting.

The move by the casual clothing giant is likely to heighten focus on worker pay ahead of annual spring labour negotiations, although it looks unlikely that the rest of Japan Inc will deliver increases on the same scale.

(Source : Reuters)

10/01/2023

Disney's boss has told employees who are currently working from home to start going into the office for four days a week from the start of March.

Chief executive Bob Iger said so-called "hybrid" workers will now be asked to treat "Monday through Thursday as in-person workdays".

He also highlighted his view that face-to-face collaboration is key to "a creative business like ours".

The announcement comes two months after Mr Iger's shock return to Disney.

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(Source : BBC)

10/01/2023

In rare good news for the planet, Earth’s ozone layer is on track to recover completely within decades, as ozone-depleting chemicals are phased out across the world, according to a new United Nations-backed assessment.

The ozone layer protects the planet from harmful ultraviolet rays. But since the late 1980s, scientists have sounded the alarm about a hole in this shield, caused by ozone-depleting substances including chlorofluorocarbons, dubbed CFCs, often found in refrigerators, aerosols and solvents.

(Source : CNN)

10/01/2023

Virgin Orbit stock fell in trading on Monday evening, after the company confirmed that its first launch out of the United Kingdom failed to reach orbit.

Shares of Virgin Orbit fell as much as 30% in after-hours trading, from its previous close of $1.93 a share.

The company uses a modified 747 jet to send satellites into space, by dropping a rocket from under the aircraft’s wing mid-flight – a method known as air launch.

(Source : CNBC)

09/01/2023

Goldman Sachs will begin cutting up to 3,200 jobs within days, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the Wall Street bank tries to rein in costs in the face of a slowdown in investment banking and a paring back of its consumer bank.

Source : Financial Times

09/01/2023

Gold prices extended gains to an eight-month high on Monday as a weaker dollar made greenback-priced bullion cheaper for overseas buyers, while investors bet on a less-aggressive rate-hike trajectory from the U.S. Federal Reserve this year.

Spot gold was up 0.8% at $1,880.33 per ounce, as of 0722 GMT, its highest level since May 9, 2022. U.S. gold futures rose 0.7% to $1,883.60.

The dollar index slipped 0.4%.

Source : Reuters

09/01/2023

A mobile air-launched rocket system to be used in Britain's first domestic satellite launch could sow the seeds for a globally dispersed rapid-response capability to put extra eyes in space in times of war, executives and analysts said.

Virgin Orbit (VORB.O), part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, plans to launch nine satellites from a LauncherOne rocket attached under the wing of a modified Boeing 747, to be flown from a new spaceport in Cornwall on Monday.

Source : Reuters

08/01/2023

Ukrainian refugees in Worcestershire have expressed gratitude for being able to celebrate Christmas with friends.

It is the first time the Orthodox Christians have marked the festival in the UK since fleeing the war.

Droitwich Working Men's Club staged a Christmas Eve dinner on Friday, after getting suggestions from refugees in the town.

(Source : BBC)

08/01/2023

Travellers streamed into China by air, land and sea on Sunday, many eager for long-awaited reunions, as Beijing opened borders that have been all but shut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After three years, mainland China opened sea and land crossings with Hong Kong and ended a requirement for incoming travellers to quarantine, dismantling a final pillar of a zero-COVID policy that had shielded China's 1.4 billion people from the virus but also cut them off from the rest of the world.

(Source : Reuters)

08/01/2023

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma will no longer control Ant Group after the fintech giant’s shareholders agreed to reshape its shareholding structure, according to a statement released by the company on Saturday.

After the adjustment, Ma’s voting rights will fall to 6.2%, according to the statement and CNN calculations.

Before the restructure, Ma possessed more than 50% of voting rights at Ant via Hangzhou Yunbo and two other entities, according to its IPO prospectus filed with the exchanges in 2020.

Source : CNN

07/01/2023

Germany and the US have agreed to join France in sending armoured fighting vehicles to Ukraine - a move seen as a significant boost to its military's capability on the battlefield.

For months, Ukraine has been asking Western allies to supply tanks, and although these vehicles are less powerful, the decision to send them sets a new precedent.

Ukraine said it was a "great victory".

(Source : CNN)

07/01/2023

Customers of US bank Silvergate, which provides cryptocurrency services, have withdrawn over $8bn (£6.7bn) of their crypto-linked deposits.

Around two-thirds of the bank's customers pulled their deposits in the final three months of 2022.

The bank has sold $5.2bn in assets to cover the cost and remain liquid.

It came as three US regulators warned banks that issuing or holding crypto was "highly likely to be inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices".

(Source : BBC)

07/01/2023

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the Alzheimer's drug lecanemab developed by Eisai Co Ltd (4523.T) and Biogen Inc (BIIB.O) for patients in the earliest stages of the mind-wasting disease.

Eisai and Biogen said on Saturday the Japanese drugmaker had applied for full FDA approval of the drug.

The drug, to be sold under the brand Leqembi, belongs to a class of treatments that aim to slow the advance of the neurodegenerative disease by removing sticky clumps of the toxic protein beta amyloid from the brain.

(Source : Reuters)

06/01/2023

A stream of sensational claims and accusations from Prince Harry's autobiography, Spare, have been leaked.

The book outlines grievances and bitterness in the Royal Family, such as a claim he and Prince William urged their father not to marry Camilla.

But one of the most striking claims from Harry, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, was how he was physically attacked by his brother.

Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have both said they will not comment.

BBC News has obtained a copy of Spare in Spain and is translating it.

(Source : BBC)

06/01/2023

Tesla (TSLA.O) cut electric car prices in China for the second time in less than three months on Friday, stoking expectations for a wider price war for battery-powered vehicles in the world's largest auto market where demand has weakened.

Tesla also cut prices on its best-selling Model Y and Model 3 electric vehicles in Japan, South Korea and Australia.

(Source : Reuters)

06/01/2023

Germany just took a step closer to finding a long-term, greener replacement for Russian natural gas and coal.

German power producer RWE (RWEOY) and Norwegian state-owned energy firm Equinor on Thursday announced plans to build hydrogen-fueled power plants in Germany over the next few years, as well as a major pipeline between the two countries to feed them.

(Source : CNN)

05/01/2023

Rishi Sunak has asked people to hold him to account if NHS waiting lists in England do not fall in two years.

It is one of five pledges set out in the prime minister's first major speech of 2023, with others covering the economy and small boat crossings.

Mr Sunak is facing challenges this winter including a wave of strike action, a cost-of-living crisis and huge pressure on the health service.

(Source : BBC)

05/01/2023

Meta has been fined €390m euros (£346m) for breaking EU data rules.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) says the way Meta asked permission to use peoples' data for ads on Facebook and Instagram was unlawful.

Meta, which owns both platforms, has three months to change how it obtains and uses data to target ads.

(Source : BBC)

05/01/2023

Amazon says it plans to lay off more than 18,000 employees as the global economic outlook continues to worsen.

Several teams will be affected, including the human resources department and Amazon Stores, according to a memo from CEO Andy Jassy shared with employees.

“Companies that last a long time go through different phases. They’re not in heavy people expansion mode every year,” he said.

(Source : CNN)

04/01/2023

Workers at Microsoft's ZeniMax Studios have voted to form the tech giant's first labour union in the US.

Microsoft agreed to recognise the group after a "supermajority" of workers at the video game production company signalled support for the plan, said the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union.

ZeniMax owns popular games including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

(Source : BBC)

04/01/2023

Inflation in Germany is at its highest point in over seven decades, according to new data published by the Federal Statistical Office on Tuesday.

Prices for energy and food skyrocketed to 7.9% for 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. Previously, annual inflation last year was at 3.1%, while in 1951, it stood at 7.6%, according to the Associated Press.

(Source : Fox News)

04/01/2023

Apple’s market cap fell below $2 trillion in trading Tuesday for the first time since early 2021 and one year to the day after the company became the first public tech company valued at $3 trillion.

Shares of Apple (AAPL) ended Tuesday down nearly 4% after a report raised concerns about consumer demand for its products. Nikkei reported that Apple (AAPL) had recently notified several suppliers to build fewer parts for some of its most popular devices for the first quarter, including AirPods, the Apple (AAPL) Watch and MacBooks.

(Source : CNN)

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