January, 2023

• 9 January

  Careful explanation needed on monetary policy: Kishida

    Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said careful explanation and communication with markets would be part of consideration on monetary policy, when asked about possible future changes in the Bank of Japan’s ultra-loose policy. His comments in a live interview with public broadcaster NHK came after central bank governor Haruhiko Kuroda last month shocked markets by saying he would ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Sri Lanka forces commercial lenders to money markets

  

    Bloomberg In a bid to force commercial lenders to participate in the domestic money markets, Sri Lanka’s central bank capped their ability to tap an emergency liquidity window to a maximum five times per month. “The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to impose restrictions on the availability of the Standing Facilities to Licensed Commercial Banks under the ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Tanzania names Treasury official central bank boss

    Bloomberg Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed Emmanuel Tutuba the nation’s central bank governor, as she moves to tackle the rising cost of living. Tutuba, who has been working as permanent secretary in the Finance Ministry, replaces Florens Luoga after his term expired, according to a statement from the president’s office. The appointment takes immediate effect. Price-growth in the ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Czech central-bank head urges less spending to avoid rate hikes

    Bloomberg Czech central-bank Governor Ales Michl is intensifying his appeal on people and the government to help tame inflation by spending less so that policymakers can refrain from raising interest rates further. Inflation will slow considerably from spring and move towards the 2% target next year, with the central bank’s baseline scenario foreseeing stable borrowing costs and a strong ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  OpenAI’s chatbot to make Bing smarter: Microsoft

  

    Bloomberg Microsoft Corp is preparing to add OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to its Bing search engine in a bid to lure users from rival Google, according to a person familiar with the plans. Microsoft is betting that the more conversational and contextual replies to users’ queries will win over search users by supplying better-quality answers beyond links, said the person, ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Samsung unveils smart-home hub, pushing deeper into Amazon turf

  

    Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. announced a smart-home control device that doubles as a wireless charger at the CES conference in Las Vegas, pushing deeper into a market led by Amazon.com Inc. The new hub, called the SmartThings Station, allows users to remotely operate accessories such as lights, locks and thermostats in their homes, the company said at the electronics ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Stellantis may shut more plants as electrification costs bite

  

  Bloomberg Stellantis NV may idle additional car manufacturing plants as it grapples with higher inflation on top of the cost of electrifying its lineup, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carlos Tavares said. “If we don’t optimise our cost structure, we cannot absorb the additional cost of electrification,” which risks leading to elevated car prices and a shrinking market, Tavares told reporters ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  IBM loses top patent spot in 2022

    Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp (IBM) dropped from the top spot for US patents in 2022, the first time in decades Big Blue hasn’t claimed the most in a year, signalling a strategy shift at the longtime intellectual property leader. IBM’s patent count declined 44% to 4,743 patents in 2022, falling to No. 2 behind Samsung Electronics Co.’s 8,513, ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  UAE starts fining private firms for failing to raise Emiratisation rates

  

    Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has announced that it has applied financial contributions to private sector companies for failing to achieve the Emiratisation targets stipulated for the year 2022. This is in line with the implementation of the UAE cabinet’s resolution to raise the Emiratisation levels of skilled jobs by 2 percent ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Oil pares large weekly drop as concerns over demand linger

  

    Bloomberg Oil pared a large weekly loss as US employment figures allayed some concerns of a major hit to global consumption this year. West Texas Intermediate climbed near $75 a barrel on Friday after the jobs data, but remained down almost 7% this week. Saudi Arabia reduced prices for crude sold to Asia and Europe in February, signaling concerns ...

  Read More »