|By Matein Khalid| The Algiers pact was a game changer in the international oil markets. Crude oil prices have risen to three month highs above $50 Brent after OPEC agreed to cut output to the 32.5 – 33 MBD range, with the symbolic Saudi-Iranian deal reinforced by a sharp drop in US inventories and Hurricane Matthew’s havoc in the Caribbean. Unfortunately for OPEC, the US land rig […]
By Se Young Lee | SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co slashed its quarterly profit estimate by a third on Wednesday, soaking up a $2.3 billion hit from ditching its flagship smartphone in what could be one of the costliest product safety failures in tech history. Quantifying the financial pain of Tuesday’s move to scrap the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after a global recall and weeks of mounting […]
In just over two months, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 has gone from smartphone star to epic failure, with the South Korean firm confirming today that it is permanently halting production of the device. Linked to numerous battery-related fires, the Galaxy Note 7 could end up costing Samsung many billions of dollars. Launched in early August, the Galaxy Note 7 appears to have had a flaw that caused […]
By Greg Roumeliotis and Liana B. Baker Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) is still deliberating whether it should make an offer for Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) in the face of resistance from Salesforce shareholders over the strategic merits and valuation of such a deal, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Twitter shares have lost as much as a third of their value since Oct. 5 on concerns the […]
By Noel Randewich | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) stock on Monday jumped 2.3 percent, reaching a high not seen since December, after rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) suspended production of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following reports of fires in replacement devices. Fires in the smartphones that were meant to replace devices that had been recalled because of their propensity to explode […]
IT services provider Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH.O) said it was conducting an internal investigation into possible violations of U.S. anti-corrupt practices laws related to payments in India, sending its shares tumbling on Friday. The company also said President Gordon Coburn had resigned and would be replaced by Rajeev Mehta, the head of IT services. Cognizant, which gave no reason for Coburn’s departure, did not respond to […]
Dutch architect and scientists have delivered proof of principle for what started years ago with the question “Can we get energy from gravity?” The invention can now lead to a sustainable home energy generator. Over the past six months, architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars at Universe Architecture, Amsterdam and scientists from VIRO in Hengelo (NL) have been working on the physical evidence. As was expected based on earlier […]
|By Matein Khalid| The Federal Reserve did not disappoint the financial markets after Janet Yellen’s FOMC conference on Wednesday. The US central bank did not raise the overnight borrowing (or Fed Funds rate) to 0.5% on the eve of the November election. This triggered a wild rally in the US stock market with the Dow Jones up 163 points, gold up to $1342 and oil to $46 […]
|By Matein Khalid| When Ben Bernanke uttered the word “taper” in May 2013, he triggered a bloodbath in emerging markets and a free fall in “fragile five” currencies that included the Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah. However, Asian equities markets, while not immune to a Fed rate hike, are far better positioned for higher US dollar interest rates than in 2013, let alone 2007 or 1998. […]
|By Matein Khalid|I had written a column two weeks ago outlining my view that US equities faced a dangerous autumn and the S&P 500 index was set for a fall of 150 points. However, even I did not expect the S&P500 index to fall 52 points on Friday (the Dow dropped 394 points and NASDAQ 133 points), its worst performance since the Brexit shock. It was even […]
By Se Young Lee | SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s shares fell to their lowest level in nearly two months on Monday after the tech giant told customers to switch off and return their new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones due to fire-prone batteries. Investors had wiped 15.9 trillion won (14.3 billion) off the South Korean firm’s market capitalisation as of 0303 GMT, as […]
By Se Young Lee and Jeffrey Dastin | SEOUL/NEW YORK SEOUL/NEW YORK A U.S. government safety agency on Friday urged all consumers to stop using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, which are prone to catch fire, and top airlines globally banned their use during flights. Following reports that the phones’ batteries have combusted during charging and normal use, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission […]
/By Matein Khalid/The oil market has been a rollercoaster in 2016. A global financial panic triggered by China’s yuan depreciation caused Brent crude to fall below $30 a barrel in late January. I was amazed at the sheer scale of the speculative short positions accumulated by oil traders and hedge funds in both West Texas and Brent futures markets, the highest since the oil crash of 2008. The […]
By Adam Jourdan and Paul Carsten | SHANGHAI/BEIJING SHANGHAI/BEIJING Judging by the volume of online chatter, there’s a lot less buzz in China ahead of this week’s expected launch of the new Apple Inc iPhone, and people on the street say they’re more likely to “wait and see” what the latest device offers than rush out to buy. Posts on China’s popular Sina Weibo microblogging site show […]
MasterCard Inc said on Tuesday it had expanded its deal with payment processor PayPal Holdings Inc, which would allow customers to use PayPal’s payment services in stores. PayPal’s partnership follows a similar deal with MasterCard’s larger rival Visa Inc in July as the company looks to expand its payments network. PayPal will allow users to select a credit or debit card as the default payment method and […]
By Se Young Lee | SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) will replace all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones equipped with fire-prone batteries and halt sales of the flagship product in 10 markets, a devastating blow for what had been a revival in the firm’s mobile business. Koh Dong-jin, head of the South Korean company’s smartphone business, spoke at a news conference jam-packed with reporters and cameras […]
/By Matien Khalid/I have been bullish on emerging market debt as an asset class since last autumn. Even though the Chinese yuan devaluation was toxic, this asset class is up 12% in 2016, thanks to almost $5 billion in cash inflows. The tax amnesty in Indonesia, the political changes in Brazil after President Dilma’s impeachment, the election of a center-right pro-business government and $16 billion sovereign debt […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Marya Group, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, announced an increase to its investment portfolio, bringing the total invested to more than $ 1 billion. Marya Group focuses on making private and public equity investments in cash-generating business with strong fundamentals across core economic sectors that are resilient: education, health care, food and beverage processing as well as real estate. Its investments are centered on […]
A general view of a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City, April 24, 2012. Reuters/Edgard Garrido/Files Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), vying to better challenge Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), will pay about $3 billion for internet retailer Jet.com and its innovative pricing software in the largest-ever deal for an e-commerce startup. The deal disclosed on Monday follows a five-year e-commerce acquisition spree in which Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest traditional retailer, […]
Eyeing the opportunity to grow its e-commerce sales, Walmart today announced it will shell out $3.3 billion to acquire the online retailer Jet. Since launching a year ago, Jet has grown rapidly to reach $1 billion in merchandise sales. While Walmart dominates the brick-and-mortar retail ecosystem in the U.S., its online sales trail that of its greatest e-commerce competitor, Amazon. In 2015, Amazon reported net sales of […]
SolarCity Corp (SCTY.O) agreed to Tesla Motors Inc’s (TSLA.O) $2.6 billion offer to buy the solar panel installer, the companies said on Monday, clearing one obstacle in the way of Elon Musk’s ambitious plans for a carbon-free energy and transportation company. Tesla’s offer represented about half of SolarCity’s value a year ago, a tumble reflecting the solar company’s slowing growth, complex financial structure and the increased scrutiny […]
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk attends a forum on startups in Hong Kong, China January 26, 2016. Reuters/Bobby Yip/File Photo Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) chief Elon Musk’s ambitious new “master plan” provided a vision of the company as a leader in sustainable energy, but lacked details on how the plan would be funded and executed. Musk sketched out a plan on Wednesday for an integrated carbon-free energy […]
A Tesla logo hangs on a building outside of a Tesla dealership in New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. Reuters/Lucas Jackson/File Photo Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to expand the company into electric trucks and buses, car sharing and solar energy systems. In a blog post titled “Master Plan, Part Deux,” Musk sketched a vision of an integrated carbon-free energy […]
|By Matein Khalid|Brexit will have a profound impact on international banking. It was no coincidence that the shares of UK, German, Swiss, Italian, Spanish and other banks fell 20-25% in a single trading session on news of Brexit. Even American money center banks and investment banks with a large footprint in the City of London fell 8 – 10% on Friday, June 24, 2016. As Deutsche Bank […]
