February, 2021

• 7 February

  Biggest Indian bank sees steepest weekly surge in three decades

  

  Bloomberg Shares of State Bank of India, the nation’s largest by assets, surged this week by the most in almost three decades, buoyed by plans to tackle bad debt and a profit that beat expectations. The Mumbai-based lender jumped 39.4% — most since March 1992 — to a record close of 393.10 rupees. Investors cheered the fact that higher provisions ...

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• 7 February

  Bitcoin rally takes crypto market value to another record

  

  Bloomberg Bitcoin climbed towards $40,000 in a rally that helped the market value of digital tokens scale a new peak. The largest cryptocurrency rises as much as 4.3% to $39,499 on Saturday, taking it closer to early January’s record of almost $42,000. The value of more than 6,000 tokens tracked by CoinGecko hit an unprecedented $1.22 trillion. The jump comes ...

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• 7 February

  Westpac to move forward with life insurance unit sale

  Bloomberg Westpac Banking Corp. is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. as it prepares to kick off a formal sale process for its life insurance business as soon as this month, according to people with knowledge of the matter. AIA Group Ltd., Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. are among the firms that have been approached ...

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• 6 February

  BNP Paribas sees revenue recovery

  Bloomberg BNP Paribas signalled higher revenue and potential share buybacks this year after reporting weaker-than-expected trading results and a slowdown at fixed-income business. The French bank posted an uneven fourth-quarter performance that saw net income and provisions beat estimates, while overall revenue and trading came in below expectations. While the lender signaled an uncertain outlook as the pandemic continues to ...

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• 6 February

  Chip shortage spirals beyond cars to phones, game consoles

  

  Bloomberg The first hints of trouble emerged in the spring of 2020. The world was in the early throes of a mysterious pandemic, which first obliterated demand then super-charged internet and mobile computing when economies regained their footing. That about-face — in a span of months — laid the seeds for potentially the most serious shortage in years of the ...

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• 6 February

  TikTok steps up search for new Dublin headquarters

  

  Bloomberg ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok unit is said to have identified five possible locations for a new headquarters in Dublin with space for about 2,000 workers. The Chinese tech firm is seeking about 200,000 square feet of space initially, according to the person, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. TikTok plans to move staff into the ...

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• 6 February

  Apple talks with Hyundai, Kia on electric car paused

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc. has held talks with Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. about building an electric vehicle, though the discussions paused, according to people familiar with the situation. Apple has also been discussing similar plans with other auto manufacturers, the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The secret project has ramped up in ...

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• 6 February

  Porsche plans assembly plant in Malaysia

  

  Bloomberg Porsche AG is setting up an assembly plant in Malaysia as the German automaker looks to make the nation its Southeast Asian hub, the Edge weekly newspaper reported. Porsche will partner with Inokom Corp., a unit of Sime Darby Bhd, in venture, which will be located in the northern state of Kedah, the Edge said. The facility will be ...

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• 6 February

  Ford’s surprise profit paves way for electric-car investment

  

  Bloomberg Ford Motor Co.’s gas-powered SUVs and trucks helped haul in an unexpected fourth-quarter profit, providing a down payment on the $29 billion the automaker plans to spend developing electric and autonomous next-generation vehicles. The manufacturer almost doubled its planned spending on EVs to $22 billion through 2025, a response to the bold initiative outlined by General Motors Co., which ...

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• 4 February

  UAE’s job market improves as vaccine rollout boosts confidence

  

  Bloomberg Business activity in the Arab world’s two largest economies improved at the start of 2021, with the United Arab Emirates seeing growth in its job market. Non-oil private sector activity in Saudi Arabia soared during January as new work levels increased and operating conditions improved in the UAE, helped by an expansion in new orders and output. Purchasing Managers’ ...

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