Category: News
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China meets banks to discuss protecting assets from US sanctions
Chinese regulators have held an emergency meeting with domestic and foreign banks to discuss how they could protect the country’s overseas assets from US-led sanctions similar to those imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussion. Officials are worried the same measures could be taken against Beijing in…
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Nasdaq index marks worst monthly drop since 2008 financial crisis
European shares and the euro followed Asian markets higher on Friday, after Chinese authorities pledged to safeguard the world’s second-largest economy from coronavirus lockdowns, lifting sentiment following disappointing economic growth data. The regional Stoxx 600 share index added 1 per cent, after strong gains in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed 4 per cent…
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Apple forecasts up to $8bn hit from supply headwinds
Apple’s services division posted record revenue in the quarter to March, pushing the company’s overall sales well beyond analysts’ expectations as it navigated supply chains issues and the highest inflation rate in decades. Revenues rose 9 per cent from a year ago to $97.3bn, versus the $94.1bn expected by analysts. Net profits jumped 6 per…
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TV rules revamp offers more bargaining power to BBC, ITV and C4
Ministers are to unveil the biggest overhaul of broadcasting rules in almost 20 years, handing the BBC, ITV and a privatised Channel 4 far greater bargaining power with digital TV platforms such as Sky, Amazon and Samsung. Nadine Dorries, culture secretary, will on Thursday publish long-awaited plans to privatise Channel 4, revamp television regulations for…
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Poland and Bulgaria braced for halt to Russian gas supplies
Russia is to halt the flow of gas to Poland and Bulgaria from Wednesday, according to authorities in both EU nations, as Moscow steps up its efforts to weaponise energy supplies over the invasion of Ukraine. PGNiG, the Polish state-controlled gas group, stated on Tuesday that Russian supplier Gazprom had informed it of a “complete…
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Twitter accepts Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover offer
Twitter’s board has accepted a roughly $44bn offer to sell the company to Elon Musk, handing control of the influential social media platform to the world’s richest man. Announcing the deal, Musk said “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy” and described the social media platform as “the digital town square where matters…
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Macron defeats Le Pen to be re-elected French president
Emmanuel Macron is set to be re-elected for a second term as French president after defeating his far-right rival Marine Le Pen in the second round of voting on Sunday, according to projections by polling agencies based on early returns. Victory for the liberal internationalist Macron, first elected in 2017, will mean continuity in economic…
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Zelensky lashes out at Kremlin as he announces Blinken and Austin visit
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at the Kremlin after Russian missiles killed eight civilians in the port city of Odesa, as America’s top diplomat prepared to visit Ukraine for the first time since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began eight weeks ago. In heated remarks, Zelensky called the Russians “bloody bastards”, “Nazis” and “Rashists” — a…
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EU approves groundbreaking rules to police Big Tech platforms
The EU will force Big Tech companies to police content online more aggressively after approving a major piece of legislation that sets the rules for the first time on how companies should keep users safe on the internet. In the early hours of Saturday morning, after nearly 16 hours of negotiations, legislators in Brussels endorsed…
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UK prepares law to give ministers power to tear up N Ireland trade deal
The UK government is preparing legislation that will give ministers sweeping powers to tear up the post-Brexit deal governing trade in Northern Ireland, risking a fresh confrontation with Brussels. Two people with knowledge of internal discussions said prime minister Boris Johnson and foreign secretary Liz Truss had in principle signed off on plans to put…
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Bill Ackman sells entire Netflix stake at roughly $400mn loss
Bill Ackman has sold his stake in Netflix at a roughly $400mn loss just months after acquiring the position, in the latest blow to the streaming company that saw its market value collapse on Wednesday following a decline in subscribers. Ackman’s decision to exit the world’s largest streaming platform came three months after he amassed…
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Netflix sheds subscribers for the first time in a decade
Netflix shares fell more than 20 per cent on Tuesday after it warned its decade-long run of subscriber growth had ended in the first quarter and admitted that it is becoming “harder to grow membership” in many markets. The streaming pioneer also warned that the number of subscribers would fall by another 2mn in the…
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Zelensky says Russia has begun renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had begun a long-awaited major new offensive in the country’s eastern Donbas border region after its forces intensified attacks along the frontline. Zelensky said in a late-night TV address on Monday that Russia had concentrated a “significant part” of its forces in the region and vowed that Ukraine would…
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War and stagflation threaten global economy as pandemic recovery slows
The twin perils of slowing growth and high inflation, or stagflation, will hit the global economy this year as Russia’s war against Ukraine exacerbates a slowdown in the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to Financial Times research. Mounting price pressures, slipping output expansion and sagging confidence will all pose a drag for most countries,…
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Inflation surge slashes $11tn from world’s negative-yielding debt
This year’s hawkish change in tack from central banks is close to ending the era of negative-yielding debt, shrinking the global tally of bonds with sub-zero yields by $11tn. Bond prices have tumbled this year as central banks move to end large-scale asset purchases and raise interest rates in their battle with soaring inflation, pushing…
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Twitter launches poison pill to thwart $43bn bid by Elon Musk
Twitter has launched a poison pill takeover defence to fend off a $43bn hostile bid from billionaire Tesla chief executive Elon Musk. In the first sign that the social media company plans to fight Musk’s bid, Twitter said on Friday that its board of directors had unanimously adopted a year-long shareholder rights plan to “enable…
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Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter at $43bn valuation
Elon Musk has made an offer to buy Twitter with a bid that values the company at $43.4bn, a move that could turn the Tesla chief executive into a social media mogul. Musk’s offer of $54.20 a share comes days after he took a 9 per cent stake in the company, becoming its largest shareholder…
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US sends Ukraine more weapons and intelligence to repel Russian offensive
US president Joe Biden is expected to announce $800mn in additional military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, including artillery and armoured vehicles, according to a person familiar with the matter. The assistance comes as Ukraine is bracing itself for a new and more brutal Russian offensive in the south-eastern Donbas region, after successfully forcing a…
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Johnson and Sunak fined over Covid lockdown breaches
UK prime minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak have been issued with fines as part of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into breaches of Covid-19 rules in Downing Street and Whitehall during the pandemic. The force said on Tuesday that more than 50 fines had been issued. Downing Street…
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Ukraine calls for financial support to ensure country’s ‘survival’
Ukraine’s finance minister has made an appeal for immediate financial support of tens of billions of dollars to plug a gaping fiscal deficit caused by the Russian invasion. Government spending exceeded revenues by about $2.7bn in March and Ukraine expects the gap to expand to $5bn-$7bn a month in April and May because of the…