Bloomberg “No one is safe.†So wrote an Amazon.com Inc. employee on an internal chat room as the company began the largest round of layoffs in its history. The mood, especially in the hard-hit devices team, reflected the shock and dismay of people more accustomed to growing budgets and moonshots than talk of recession and austerity. Devices chief Dave ...
Read More »Blog Layout
Swiss watch exports growth slows
Bloomberg Swiss watch exports grew at a slower pace in October as shipments to China declined, suggesting a slight moderation in demand for high-end timepieces. Shipments rise 6.7% to $2.4 billion last month, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said. Exports are up 12% in the first ten months of the year, on track for a record. Demand ...
Read More »Masayoshi Son owes $4.7b to SoftBank after tech rout
Bloomberg Masayoshi Son is now personally on the hook for about $4.7 billion on side deals he set up at SoftBank Group Corp. to boost his compensation, after mounting losses in the company’s tech portfolio wiped out the value of his interest in the second Vision Fund. Over the years, the Japanese billionaire’s controversial personal stakes in SoftBank’s investments drew ...
Read More »Indonesia’s internet firm GoTo to cut 1,300 jobs
Bloomberg Indonesia’s largest internet company GoTo Group will cut 1,300 jobs as it seeks to curtail expenses and assuage investor concerns over mounting losses. The cuts amount to about 12% of the workforce, the company said in a statement Friday. The ride-hailing, e-commerce and fintech company will begin notifying affected employees right away. GoTo joins tech giants from Apple ...
Read More »India to ease data storage rules in relief for Google, Facebook
Bloomberg India plans to allow transfer and storing personal data in some countries overseas, in a reprieve for global companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook. The government will “notify such countries or territories outside India to which a data fiduciary may transfer personal data,†according to the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill ...
Read More »Hong Kong growth forecasts slashed
Bloomberg Hong Kong’s economy will grow next year at a slower pace than previously expected, according to economists, as the city struggles to dig itself out of what’s likely to be a deep contraction in 2022. Gross domestic product is projected to grow 2.7% in 2023 from this year, according to the median forecast in a the latest Bloomberg ...
Read More »China developers finally get liquidity but where’s the demand
Bloomberg The long-awaited policy rescue for Chinese developers finally landed this month to ease a severe liquidity crunch. The hurdle of collapsing home demand may prove just as steep a challenge. Assets linked to the nation’s fragile real-estate sector have rallied over the past two weeks after regulators introduced directives that addressed everything from companies’ liquidity problems to the ...
Read More »North Korea fires suspected ICBM after warning US on exercises
Bloomberg North Korea test-fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile with an estimated range long enough to carry a warhead to the American mainland, prompting the US to condemn what it said was an unlawful action. The North Korean missile was launched Friday, a day after Pyongyang warned the US to halt allied military drills in the region or face retribution. ...
Read More »Kamala Harris seeks to coax Asia towards US as China gains
Bloomberg Vice President Kamala Harris tried to persuade Asian nations that the US is their most valuable economic partner in a speech in Bangkok on Friday, with the Biden administration wary of China’s inroads in the region. Harris sought to allay doubts about the US commitment to the region among its leaders, after a turbulent period that saw former President ...
Read More »China, Japan leaders open door to mend ties in first meeting
Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asserted their desire to improve relations and agreed to reopen lines of communication in the first meeting of the leaders of Asia’s two largest economies in three years. Xi expressed a willingness to work with Japan to maintain a stable relationship at their summit Thursday on the sidelines of ...
Read More »