US unemployment claims fall to 684,000 last week

US jobless claims fell more than expected last week as economic activity rebounded following weather-related disruptions. Another 684-thousand people filed for unemployment benefits, down from 781-thousand in the week prior. Claims are now at the lowest level since mid-March last year, when the coronavirus pandemic began.

Mastercard faces $19B class action lawsuit in UK

US credit card giant Mastercard is facing a historic 19-billion dollar class action lawsuit for allegedly overcharging UK consumers between 1992 and 2008. A two-day court hearing has kicked-off in London to determine the fate of Britain's first mass consumer claim. If the court rules against Mastercard, around 46-million people in the UK could receive a payout of up to 410 dollars.

Cineworld reports first annual loss, raises more debt

The world's second-largest cinema operator, Cineworld, has reported its first-ever annual loss due to the pandemic. The group, which shut all of its 660 movie theatres in the US and the UK in October, suffered a pre-tax loss of 3-billion dollars in 2020. The Regal Cinemas owner has also raised a further 213-million dollars in funds to bolster its finances.

Turkey's exports rose 9.6% in February, imports up 9.4%

Turkey's exports rose by 9.6 percent on an annual basis to $16 billion last month, as economies around the world gradually reopen. Imports were also up 9.4 percent to $19.3 billion, bringing the foreign trade deficit to $3.3 billion. The top destination for Turkish goods during the month was Germany, followed by the UK and the US.

Huawei's profit growth slows sharply as US sanctions bite

Huawei's annual profit growth slowed sharply in 2020, as US sanctions and disruptions caused by the pandemic weighed on its operations. Net profit at the Chinese telecom giant came in at $9.9 billion, up by 3.7 percent year-on-year. That's down from the 5.6 percent growth recorded in the previous year.

H&M swings to quarterly loss of $122M due to store closures

H&M has swung to a quarterly loss, as lockdowns forced more than a third of its stores to close. The world's second-largest fashion retailer reported a net loss of $122 million in the three months to March. Meanwhile, the company says its commitment to China remains strong, in response to a boycott launched by Chinese shoppers after H&M spoke out about forced labour in the Xinjiang region.

Turkey to take Saudi boycott to World Trade Organization

Turkey's lodging a complaint with the World Trade Organisation against Saudi Arabia for forcing businesses to boycott Turkish goods. Riyadh has been ramping up pressure on Ankara after a Turkish court began hearing a case against Saudis accused of murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A decision against the kingdom would force it to compensate Turkish businesses for the lost revenues.

Growth in South African labour costs slows to 3.9% in Q4

Growth in South African labour costs has continued to slow from a 27-year high in the fourth quarter. The South African Reserve Bank's latest quarterly bulletin shows growth in nominal unit labour costs fell to 3-point-9 percent from 4-point-6 percent in the previous quarter.

BioNTech reports $430M net profit in Q4, shares surge

BioNtech has reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results, sending its shares up more than 5 percent. Net profit at the German biotech company came in at 430 million dollars in the final three months, thanks to sales of its coronavirus vaccine. The company has also projected 11-and-a-half billion dollars in vaccine sales based on its existing contracts.

J&J agrees to supply 400M vaccine doses to African countries

Johnson and Johnson has agreed to supply up to 220-million doses of its single-shot coronavirus vaccine to the African Union this year. The US drugmaker says the delivery of the jabs to the 55 AU members will begin in the third quarter of 2021. A further 180-million doses could then be delivered next year.

Vietnam's economy grows 4.48% in the first quarter

Vietnam's gross domestic product grew nearly 4-and- a-half percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier. That's as exports rose 22-percent, boosted by a surge in shipments of smartphones and personal computers to the US. The Southeast Asian nation is one of the few economies that didn't contract last year during the pandemic.

China's Xiaomi opens production facility in Turkey

One of China's biggest technology companies, Xiaomi, has launched a production facility in Turkey with supply giant, Salcomp. The factory in Istanbul will have an annual production capacity of 5-million smartphones and will employ around 2-thousand people. At the opening ceremony, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey offers important opportunities for foreign investors due to its dynamic labour force and strategic location.

Pfizer begins human trials of oral COVID-19 drug

Pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, has begun early-stage US trials on a coronavirus oral anti-viral drug. The pill is designed to be taken early in an infection to prevent the virus from replicating in cells before patients get very sick. The drugmaker says there haven't been any unexpected problems in the study so far, and that it could generate results within weeks.

Intel to invest $20B to build two semiconductor plants in US

US chipmaker, Intel, says it will spend 20 billion dollars to build two semiconductor plants in Arizona in a bid to ramp up production. The announcement comes amid a global chip shortage that's slowed manufacturing activity in the auto industry. Intel's stock jumped as much as 7 percent after its announcement, while shares in Asian rivals, TSMC and Samsung, edged lower.

Tesla starts accepting bitcoin as payment for its cars

Tesla has started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for its electric cars. The option to pay using the cryptocurrency has been offered on the company's US website and will be available in other countries later this year. In a tweet, CEO Elon Musk also said that any bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin and not converted to a fiat currency.

UK unemployment falls to 5% in three months to January

Unemployment in the UK has fallen for the first time since the pandemic began, with the jobless rate slipping to 5-percent. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of workers on company payrolls climbed by almost 200-thousand in the three months to February. But the ONS says people aged under 25 continue to bear the brunt of job losses during the crisis.

Microsoft reportedly in talks to buy Discord for $10B

Microsoft is reportedly in talks to buy messaging platform, Discord, for more than 10-billion dollars. According to a Bloomberg report, Discord has reached out to potential buyers, including the US software giant. The San Francisco-based app is best known for its free service that lets gamers communicate by video, voice and text.

Twitter's Jack Dorsey sells the first tweet as NFT for $2.9M

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has sold his first tweet to a Malaysia-based businessman for just over 2-point-9 million dollars. The tweet was sold as a non-fungible token - a unique digital certificate that authenticates digital assets. The buyer - Sina Estavi - says he believes the first-ever tweet will appreciate in value, just like the Mona Lisa.

CEO Leon Black quits Apollo over Jeffrey Epstein scandal

Wall Street billionaire Leon Black has quit his leadership positions at Apollo Global Management, the investment giant he co-founded. Black's departure comes amid scrutiny over his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while facing federal sex trafficking charges. Apollo co-founder Marc Rowan has taken over as CEO

Canadian Pacific to buy Kansas City Southern for $25B

Railway group, Canadian Pacific, has agreed to buy Kansas City Southern for 25-billion dollars, marking the largest takeover deal so far this year. The transaction values the US freight group at 275-dollars per share, accounting for a 23-percent premium on Friday's closing price. The acquisition will create a 32-thousand kilometre railway network linking the US, Mexico and Canada.

Deliveroo targets valuation of up to $12B in London IPO

Online food delivery start-up, Deliveroo, is seeking a valuation of up to 12 -billion dollars in its planned initial public offering in London. The deal could mark Britain's largest stock market debut since commodities giant Glencore went public nearly a decade ago. The plans come at a time when lockdowns have forced restaurants to close, leading to a surge in online orders.

New Zealand's economy unexpectedly shrinks 1% in Q4

New Zealand's economy suffered a surprise contraction in the fourth quarter, denting hopes of a swift recovery from the pandemic. GDP shrank by 1 percent in the final three months of 2020, following nearly 14 percent growth in the third quarter. Economists expect the economy to shrink further in the current quarter, which would put the Pacific nation in a technical recession.

Credit Suisse suspends bonuses over Greensill collapse

Credit Suisse will overhaul its asset management business and suspend bonuses for some senior executives as it tries to contain the fallout from the collapse of Greensill Capital. The Swiss lender had multiple ties to Greensill, including 10-billion dollars of funds that offered exposure to the company's loans and were marketed to the bank's clients as safe investments.

Shares in SK Bioscience jump 160% on market debut

Shares in South Korean vaccine maker, SK Bioscience, more than doubled on their market debut. The company's stock jumped 160 percent on Seoul's KOSPI exchange, boosting its market value to 11-and- a-half billion dollars. The local manufacturer of AstraZeneca's vaccine raised 1-point-3 billion dollars from the IPO, marking the biggest domestic listing since 2017.

Four US states join Texas-led lawsuit against Google

Four more US states have joined a Texas-led lawsuit against Alphabet's Google, bringing the number of plaintiffs to 15 states and territories. The lawsuit accuses the internet giant of breaking antitrust laws to boost its already dominant advertising business. Filed in December, the complaint is one of three ongoing antitrust cases against the search giant.

Greensill family reportedly cashed out before collapse

Australian businessman Lex Greensill and his family reportedly sold about 200-million dollars of shares in their financial services firm two years before its collapse. According to the Financial Times, the family cashed-out after Greensill Capital received a 1-and- a-half billion dollar investment from SoftBank in 2019. The business filed for administration in the UK last week

Samsung warns of deepening semiconductor shortage

Samsung has warned that a global chip shortage that's currently disrupting carmakers could spread to the broader technology sector. The South Korean tech giant expects the shortage will impact its business in the second quarter. Suppliers are struggling to meet the unprecedented demand for semiconductors, amid a surge in sales of cars and electronics during the pandemic.

Sackler family increases opioid settlement offer to $4.3B

Members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma, have offered 4-point-3 billion dollars to resolve thousands of lawsuits linked to their powerful painkiller, OxyContin. Purdue is accused of fueling America's deadly opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of the drug. A group of around half of all US states has rejected a previous settlement offer of 3-billion dollars.

Encrypted messaging app Signal blocked in China

The encrypted messaging app, Signal, has stopped working in China without the use of a virtual private network. Signal is one of the last widely used apps in the country that allows users to send and receive messages that can't be accessed by a third party. The ban comes at a time of increasing internet censorship in China, where Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have long been blocked.

Nokia plans to slash up to 10,000 jobs by 2023

Nokia is planning to slash up to 10-thousand jobs over the next two years as part of a wider restructuring plan. The job cuts come as the Finnish telecoms equipment maker tries to regain its competitiveness in the race to win orders for 5G networks. The company says the restructuring could cost as much as 835-million dollars by the end of 2023.