Iris Barker
Economics
Raiffeisen acquires Czech Equa bank
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is buying 100% of Czech Equa bank from investment company AnaCap Financial Partners, the bank holding company said in a press release.
Published on February 8, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
Analysts: Rising U.S. oil production can spur OPEC+
According to Baker Hughes, the number of rigs in the U.S. rose 9% in January, though it is still half what it was a year ago.
Published on February 8, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
De Beers shows 18% sales growth in January
The world's largest diamond producer, De Beers sold $650 million worth of rough diamonds in January, up 18 percent from January 2020 and 44 percent more than in the last…
Published on February 4, 2021
By Iris Barker
Management
Amazon’s new head sets to develop its gaming business despite a string of failures
Amazon will continue to develop its Amazon Game Studios (AGS) game division despite a string of failed projects, said Andy Jassy, who will succeed billionaire Jeff Bezos as CEO by…
Published on February 4, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
Iraq shows full compliance with oil production cuts
In January, Iraq showed 106% compliance with the agreement to reduce oil production under the OPEC+ agreement, the Iraqi state-owned State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) said on Wednesday.
Published on February 3, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Alibaba revenues up by 37% for the quarter
China's Alibaba Group presented its financial statements for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2020, which ended in December.
Published on February 3, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
UN: Recovering economies won’t make up for all the losses from the pandemic
The global economy shrank by 4.3% in the "covid" year 2020, which was the biggest decline since the Great Depression, according to a UN report on the economic outlook.
Published on February 2, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
ExxonMobil posts first annual loss since 1999
US oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil presented its results for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the whole year of 2020.
Published on February 2, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
Eurozone industrial PMI falls to 54.8 points in January
The composite business activity index (PMI) for industry in the euro area fell slightly to 54.8 points in January from 55.2 points in December.
Published on February 1, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Multi-billion dollar embezzlement revealed in HNA Group
Several companies within the diversified conglomerate HNA Group have reported theft and misappropriation of funds totalling at least $9.8bn.
Published on February 1, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
India to create its own cryptocurrency and ban others
India plans to pass a law banning various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, and set a legislative framework for an official digital currency to be issued by the country's central bank.
Published on February 1, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Playboy may announce $25m purchase of adult retail chain Lovers
Playboy Enterprises plans to announce the acquisition of the sexual health retailer as early as Monday. Lovers operates online and through 41 shops in five US states.
Published on February 1, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Saudi Arabia plans Saudi Aramco SPO
The Saudi authorities may put additional stakes in state-owned oil and gas company Saudi Aramco on the market in the coming years.
Published on January 29, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
Pandemic aid to national economies reaches $14T
At the end of last year 2020, financial support provided by governments to national economies because of the coronavirus pandemic reached a total of $14 trillion. This was revealed in…
Published on January 28, 2021
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
Housing rent price in London falls by 12% in 2020
Amid the pandemic, rents in UK city centres have fallen while rents in some smaller towns and suburbs have risen.
Published on January 27, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Boeing ends 2020 with a record $12bn loss
US aerospace corporation Boeing presented its financial statements for the fourth quarter and 2020 as a whole.
Published on January 27, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Merck & Co. quits the race to develop COVID-19 vaccine
US pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co has withdrawn from an active battle to develop a vaccine against COVID-19.
Published on January 26, 2021
By Iris Barker
Science & Technology
User data collection vulnerability is found in TikTok
A vulnerability has been found in TikTok's Find Friends feature that could allow attackers to collect users' personal data: phone number, nickname, user ID and profile pictures, Check Point said.
Published on January 26, 2021
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
UN declares worst economic crisis
The world has entered its worst economic crisis in a century as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. This was the view expressed by UN Secretary General António Guterres in…
Published on January 26, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
Peterson Institute: China fulfilled just 58% of US-China trade deal
The U.S.-China trade deal, negotiated at length in January 2020, was only partially fulfilled by the PRC at 58% amid the pandemic, but China did increase its purchases of American…
Published on January 26, 2021
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
New Yorkers owe more than $1B in rent due to COVID-19 pandemic
New Yorkers renting flats in the city have owed more than $1 billion in rent since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal,…
Published on January 18, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
French Total buys $2.5bn stake in Indian solar energy market leader
French energy company Total announced on Monday that it has bought a 20 percent stake in India's Adani Green Energy Corporation, one of the world leaders in the solar energy…
Published on January 18, 2021
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
France agrees to vaccination, but vaccines are scarce
A curfew has been in imposed in France since Saturday. Due to the emergence of new, more dangerous COVID-19 variant, internal and external borders are closed. Mass vaccination remains the…
Published on January 17, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Xiaomi shares lose 11.8% after blacklisting in the U.S.
Shares of Chinese technology company Xiaomi fell 11.8% at the opening of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday after the U.S. decision to blacklist the company, according…
Published on January 15, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
OPEC maintains forecast for global oil demand in 2021
OPEC maintained its forecast for global oil demand in 2021, expects it to grow by 5.9 million barrels per day.
Published on January 15, 2021
By Iris Barker
Management
Tech companies employees name the best country to work in
Employees of global technology companies have named the UK as the best place to work, according to a ranking by online job search site Glassdoor.
Published on January 13, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Trump administration rejects ban on investments in Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu
Trump administration has abandoned plans to blacklist technology giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu as companies working for or under the control of the Chinese military, four people familiar with the…
Published on January 13, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
YouTube rival demands $6B compensation from Google for ‘unfair search algorithms’
Canadian video platform Rumble has filed a lawsuit against Google in the federal district court for the Northern District of California. It accuses the company of giving preference to its…
Published on January 12, 2021
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
Germany blocks the world’s largest darknet trading site
German law enforcers shut down and disconnected the world's allegedly largest darknet trading platform from its servers, according to Bild.
Published on January 12, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Dr. Martens to launch IPO in London
British investment company Permira has decided to sell part of its stake in footwear maker Dr. Martens through an IPO, the Financial Times reports. The company's initial public offering will…
Published on January 11, 2021
By Iris Barker
Science & Technology
Japan to deploy unmanned fighter jets by 2035
Japan has embarked on the development of unmanned fighter jets to be operational by 2035, the Financial Times (FT) reports.
Published on January 11, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
Employment in USA slumps to 57%
In the USA, new restrictions due to the pandemic led to the first drop in new jobs since April 2020: in December the figure fell by 140,000 (analysts had forecast…
Published on January 10, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Gates, Blackstone to buy private aviation market leader Signature Aviation
US billionaire Bill Gates wants to participate through his investment fund Cascade Investment in the purchase of UK-based Signature Aviation, one of the leaders in the global private airline market.
Published on January 10, 2021
By Iris Barker
Economics
Cryptocurrency market cap exceeds one trillion dollars for the first time
The combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies has surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, CoinMarketCap reports.
Published on January 7, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
China warns against delisting of Chinese firms from NYSE
The delisting of three Chinese operating companies from the New York Stock Exchange would hurt state interests and the reputation of the United States, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying…
Published on January 7, 2021
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
WHO: New strain of coronavirus found in 40 countries
Cases of infection with a new strain of coronavirus, detected in mid-December in the UK, were identified in 40 other countries. This is reported by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Published on January 6, 2021
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
Study: Sales of nano-apartments are growing in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's real estate market, known as the most expensive housing market in the world, is being taken over by nano-apartments. This is reported by Bloomberg, citing a study by…
Published on January 6, 2021
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Investors are selling off the most expensive stocks to lock in 2020 profit
Shares in those companies that benefited from the pandemic, including Zoom, fell more than 6 per cent as investors sought to lock in profits before the New Year. In contrast,…
Published on December 29, 2020
By Iris Barker
Economics
Analysts: 2020 is the worst year for the oil industry in 10 years
The Wall Street Journal reports that 2020 has been the worst year for oil companies in at least a decade. In the first nine months of this year alone, oil…
Published on December 28, 2020
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
UK to ban junk food
The UK may ban the sale of sodas and snacks at cash registers. According to the Guardian, the move is part of an effort to combat obesity.
Published on December 28, 2020
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
US giant Mars sets to produce pet food in China
US confectionery and pet food giant Mars plans to build Asia's largest state-of-the-art animal food factory in Tianjin in northeast China, Xinhua news agency reported.
Published on December 27, 2020
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
European Union starts COVID-19 vaccination
COVID-19 vaccination with the first approved vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech began in the European Union this Sunday, amid previously intensified restrictions due to a worsening epidemiological situation.
Published on December 27, 2020
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
Alibaba’s largest investor loses $22B worth of its stake amid Jack Ma’s troubles
Japanese SoftBank, which owns nearly a quarter of Alibaba, lost $22 billion of the stake's market value as the Chinese company's share price fell 13% on Thursday. SoftBank founder Masayoshi…
Published on December 25, 2020
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
Chinese watchdog launches antitrust investigation against Alibaba
China's State Administration for Market Regulation announced an investigation into Alibaba Group.
Published on December 24, 2020
By Iris Barker
Economics
Saxo Bank: Oil may fall in price by 10% due to new COVID-19 strain
Ole Hansen, Head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, believes that the emergence of a more contagious strain of coronavirus could result in a drop in oil prices due to…
Published on December 24, 2020
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
US DOJ sues Walmart over country’s opioid crisis
The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit in Delaware against the Walmart chain. The agency accuses the largest US retailer of violating drug laws.
Published on December 22, 2020
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
BioNTech head: We can create a vaccine against the new COVID-19 strain in six weeks
CEO of BioNTech, the biotech company that created the US and EU-approved COVID-19 vaccine with Pfizer, said his company could create an improved version of the vaccine against the new…
Published on December 22, 2020
By Iris Barker
Economics
Analysts name key condition for global economic recovery
Mass vaccination of the population will be the key to global economic recovery in 2021, according to analysts at the international insurance company Euler Hermes.
Published on December 22, 2020
By Iris Barker
Business & Finance
EU authorities approve $38B merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA
On Monday, 21 December, the European Commission said it was giving its approval for the merger of two carmakers, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and PSA.
Published on December 22, 2020
By Iris Barker
World & Politics
DPA: Number of ATMs blown up in Germany reaches record
The number of ATMs blown up in Germany has reached an all-time record in 2020, Martina Link, Vice President of the Federal Criminal Office (BKA), told dpa on Sunday, 20…
Published on December 21, 2020
By Iris Barker
