Tech Amazon in deal for ‘Lord of the Rings’ video game Amazon.com and Swedish game developer Embracer Group have agreed to develop and publish a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on fantasy series The Lord of The Rings, the companies said. The game, which is in the early stages of development, will be set in Middle-earth, featuring stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of […] May 16, 2023
Tech Musk says Twitter to allow calls and encrypted messages Twitter Inc CEO Elon Musk has revealed details about new features including adding calls and encrypted messaging coming to the platform. Last year, Musk flagged plans for ‘Twitter 2.0 The Everything App’, which he said would have features such as encrypted direct messages (DMs), longform tweets and payments. “Coming soon will be voice and video chat from […] May 10, 2023
Sustainability UAE and US climate-smart farming fund grows to $13bn The UAE and the US have increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to more than $13 billion, said US secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The investments have exceeded the challenge by US special envoy for climate John Kerry at Cop27 to achieve $10 billion by Cop28, Vilsack told the Agriculture Innovation Mission for […] May 9, 2023
Retail Amazon offers shoppers $10 to pick up purchases Amazon.com is offering customers $10 to pick up a purchase rather than have it shipped to a home address, as the e-commerce giant joins other retailers in racing to slash costs for home delivery and returns amid slack consumer demand. Over the past few days Amazon has emailed an unknown number of Prime subscribers in […] May 9, 2023
Tech LinkedIn cuts over 700 jobs as demand wavers LinkedIn, the professional networking platform owned by Microsoft, has revealed plans to cut 716 jobs as demand wavers, while also shutting down its China-focused jobs app. LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees, has grown revenue each quarter during the last year, but it joins other major technology companies including its parent in laying off workers as […] May 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Buffett says Berkshire cautious on banking sector Warren Buffett has said Berkshire Hathaway is cautious around the banking sector, largely because of poor messaging by officials around government-insured deposits, as well as distorted incentives he said were brought on by banking regulation. A crisis of confidence in the US banking sector has led to the failure of three midsized banks since March […] May 7, 2023
Economy Fed may pause rate hikes after latest increase The US Federal Reserve has hinted that it may be time to pause interest rate hikes after announcing its tenth consecutive increase since March 2022. As widely expected the Fed has raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps), with the majority of Gulf central banks, whose currencies are pegged to the US […] May 4, 2023
Banking & Finance JPMorgan among bidders in First Republic auction PNC Financial Services Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citizens Financial Group Inc were among banks that submitted final bids for First Republic Bank on Sunday in an auction by US regulators, sources familiar with the matter said. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had been expected to announce a deal on Sunday night, with the […] May 1, 2023
SoftBank’s Arm registers for blockbuster Nasdaq listing SoftBank Group Corp’s chip maker Arm Ltd has filed with regulators confidentially for a US stock market listing, Arm said, setting the stage for this year’s largest initial public offering (IPO). The IPO registration shows that Softbank is pressing ahead with the blockbuster offering despite adverse market conditions, after saying in March that it planned […] April 30, 2023
Banking & Finance Energizer and Walmart face suit for raising battery prices Energizer Holdings Inc and Walmart Inc have been sued by consumers and retailers in three proposed class actions accusing them of conspiring to raise the prices of disposable batteries. According to complaints filed on Friday, Energizer agreed “under pressure from Walmart” to inflate wholesale battery prices for other retailers starting around January 2018, and require […] April 30, 2023
Manufacturing Smaller EV prices to come down as sales surge Nearly one in five cars sold globally this year will be electric, with the prices of smaller electric vehicles (EV) models dropping to rival those of combustion engine cars in North America and Europe by the mid-2020s, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted. The agency raised its EV sales forecasts in part because of […] April 27, 2023
Lifestyle Global finance ‘giant’ Win Bischoff dies aged 81 Win Bischoff, who was among the most influential and celebrated financiers of his generation, has died at the age of 81, prompting tributes from the industry he helped shape. The Anglo-German banker worked for some of the world’s biggest banks and finance firms in a six decade career that spanned boom and bust and criss-crossed […] April 27, 2023
Large screens and rumble seats enchant moviegoers Jason Stark’s two young sons talked excitedly for months about seeing the “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”. When the film debuted this month, he decided to make the experience a special outing. Stark took a day off from work and drove his boys, ages nine and six, about a half-hour from their Connecticut home to […] April 26, 2023
Lifestyle Alphabet CEO earns over $226m in 2022 Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai received total compensation of about $226 million in 2022, more than 800 times the median employee’s pay, the company said in a securities filing. Pichai’s compensation included stock awards of about $218 million, the filing showed. The pay disparity comes at a time when Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has been […] April 23, 2023
Manufacturing Ford says Tesla price cuts sign of ‘growing competition’ Electric car giant Tesla’s decision to cut prices to drive up sales volume reflects the pressure it faces from competition and an aging product line-up, Ford CEO Jim Farley said. Farley said Tesla’s price cuts underscore intense competition in the two-row crossover or SUV segment of the auto market, where Tesla’s best-selling Model Y faces […] April 21, 2023
Manufacturing Elon Musk says Tesla will put sales growth ahead of profit Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk has doubled down on the price war he started at the end of last year, saying the electric vehicle (EV) maker would prioritise sales growth ahead of profit in a weak economy. The company posted its lowest quarterly gross margin in two years, missing market estimates, as it slashed prices […] April 20, 2023
Banking & Finance Branson’s Virgin Orbit files Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc and its subsidiaries in the United States filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy plan with the US bankruptcy court for the district of Delaware, the company said in a statement. Earlier this month, Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the satellite launch company struggled to secure long-term […] April 20, 2023
Opinion Energy IEA is wrong to blame Opec+ for global inflation The latest spat seems to boil down to divergent views on China April 18, 2023
Energy G7 ministers set fresh targets for renewables The G7 nations have set big new collective targets for solar power and offshore wind capacity, agreeing to speed up renewable energy development and move toward a quicker phase-out of fossil fuels. But they stopped short of endorsing a 2030 deadline for phasing out coal that Canada and other members had pushed for and left […] April 17, 2023
Business of Sport Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ sneakers sell for record $2.2m A pair of signed, game-worn Michael Jordan sneakers from the 1998 NBA Finals have fetched a record $2.2 million, making them the most valuable sneakers ever sold, auction house Sotheby’s said. The Air Jordan 13 “Breds” – short for “black and red” – were worn by Jordan in the second game of the finals during […] April 13, 2023
Tech Elon Musk says Twitter is ‘roughly breaking even’ Twitter Inc CEO Elon Musk has said the social media company is “roughly breaking even”, as most of its advertisers have returned and its aggressive cost-cutting efforts have started bearing fruit after massive layoffs. Musk, in an interview with BBC broadcast live on Twitter Spaces, said Twitter has about 1,500 employees now, a sharp decline […] April 13, 2023
Energy Masdar powers US ops with battery project stake UAE clean energy firm Masdar has expanded its presence in the US renewables market with the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in a combined solar and battery storage project from EDF Renewables North America. The Big Beau in California comprises a 128mw photovoltaic solar plant and a 40mw/160 mwh battery energy storage system. The […] April 12, 2023
