Business in 60 Seconds

Indian court halts Future's $3.4B deal on Amazon plea

India's Supreme Court has blocked the 3-point-4 billion dollar sale of retailer, Future Group, to the country's largest business conglomerate, Reliance Industries. The injunction follows claims that Future Group's sale violates a contract with the online retail giant, Amazon. The freeze could shutter hundreds of outlets and jeopardise up to 25-thousand jobs.

Global dividend payments fall $220B in 2020

The pandemic saw companies slash their dividends shareholders by 220-billion dollars in 2020. According to the latest Global Dividend Index from asset manager Janus Henderson, payouts to shareholders fell 12-percent to 1-point-26 trillion dollars. That's the biggest slump since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. But the report estimates dividends could rebound by as much as 5-percent this year.

Copper prices hit highest level in almost 10 years

Copper prices have surged to the highest level in nearly ten years thanks to optimism about a global economic recovery. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange has risen as much as 3-percent, crossing 9-thousand dollars a tonne. The metal has also benefited from a weaker dollar and a rise in inflation expectations.

Turkey's central bank keeps policy rate unchanged at 17%

Turkey's central bank has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 17-percent, in line with expectations. Under the newly appointed governor Naci Agbal, the bank has hiked its repo rate by 675 basis points since November in an attempt to reduce inflation. Tighter monetary policy has helped to boost the Turkish lira.

Walmart reports strong sales in Q4 thanks to govt stimulus

Walmart has reported strong fourth quarter sales thanks to a new round of government stimulus cheques. Total revenue grew by 7-point-3 percent in the three months to the end of January to 152 billion dollars. But shares in Walmart fell as much as 5 percent after the world's largest retailer announced a steep increase in capital spending.

Air France-KLM reports $8.5B loss in 2020 due to pandemic

Air France-KLM slumped to an 8-and- a-half billion dollar loss in 2020 as the COVID-19 crisis hit air travel demand. Group revenues plunged by nearly 60-percent to 13-point-4 billion dollars, and passenger numbers plummeted 67-percent from a year ago. The airline group is currently in talks with the French and Dutch governments for a new rescue package.

Rio Tinto to pay record $6.5B dividend as profit soars

Rio Tinto has rewarded investors with the biggest dividend in its history after higher iron ore prices boosted its full-year earnings. The Anglo-Australian miner will pay a final dividend of 6-and- a-half billion dollars to shareholders, taking its total payout for the year to 9-billion dollars. Net profit jumped 22-percent last year to 9-point-8 billion dollars.

EU court rejects Ryanair challenge against airline aid

Ryanair has lost its legal fight against bailouts that were granted to rivals Air France and Sweden's SAS through national schemes. The EU's general court said those funds didn’t break state aid rules because they were designed to help the carriers through the pandemic. The Irish budget-carrier says it will appeal the ruling to the bloc's top court.

Jeff Bezos reclaims title as world's richest person

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has overtaken Elon Musk to reclaim his title as the world's richest person with a net worth of around 191-billion dollars. That comes after Tesla shares fell 2-and- a-half percent, slashing its chief executive's net worth by 4-point-6 billion dollars. Last month, Musk had surged to the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking

Bitcoin briefly tops $50,000 for the first time

Bitcoin has briefly crossed the 50-thousand dollar mark for the first time, as the world's most popular cryptocurrency extends its rally. The digital token climbed as much as 4 -percent to hit 50,400 dollars on Tuesday, before retreating to 49,500. Bitcoin was up around 25 percent last week, driven by endorsements from Tesla and the investment bank, BNY Mellon

Singapore unveils $8.3B pandemic relief package

Singapore has announced further support for households and businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat has unveiled a new fiscal package worth 8-point-3 billion dollars in his annual budget speech. Last year, the Asian city-state committed nearly 70-billion- dollars - or around 20 percent of its GDP - to cushion citizens from the pandemic's economic impact.

Mining giant BHP sees profit jump, declares record dividend

The world's biggest miner BHP has reported its best first-half profit in seven years thanks to higher iron ore prices. Underlying profit for the six months to the end of December jumped 15-percent from the same period last year to over 6-billion- dollars. The Anglo- Australian company has also announced a record 5-point-1 billion dollar interim dividend.

Japan economy grows 12.7% year-on-year in fourth quarter

Japan's economy has recorded another quarter of double-digit growth thanks to a surge in exports. GDP grew an annualised 12.7-percent from October through December.. following a record 22.9-percent expansion in the prior quarter. But for the full year, the world's third largest economy shrank 4.8-percent, the first annual contraction since the 2009 financial crisis.

Bitcoin retreats from high of $50,000 due to profit-taking

Bitcoin has retreated from record highs a day after it reached nearly 50-thousand dollars. The world's biggest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 6-percent to just below 46-thousand dollars, as investors took profits from a weekend rally. The digital token was up around 25-percent last week, driven by endorsements from Tesla and the investment bank, BNY Mellon.

Jaguar luxury cars to go fully electric by 2025

Luxury car brand, Jaguar, will go all-electric as the auto industry adapts to tighter emissions limits around the world. Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by India's Tata Motors, says all Jaguar models will be entirely powered by batteries by the middle of this decade. JLR is also aiming to become a net zero carbon company by 2039.

US weekly unemployment claims dip slightly to 793,000

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has fallen slightly as authorities begin easing coronavirus restrictions. Another 793,000 people lodged jobless claims last week, down 19,000 from the week before. But the number is still above the 665,000 peak recorded during the recession.

Malaysia's economy shrinks 5.6% in 2020

Malaysia's economy shrank at a faster-than-expected rate in the fourth quarter, as a fresh wave of COVID-19 hit domestic consumption. GDP contracted 3-point-4 percent from a year earlier, falling for a third straight quarter. For the full year, Malaysia's economy shrank 5-point-6 percent, marking its worst performance since the Asian financial crisis of 1997-to 98.

AstraZeneca reports 10% rise in 2020 sales to $26.6B

And AstraZeneca has reported a 10 percent rise in sales for 2020, beating analysts' expectations. Total revenue came in at 26-point-6 billion dollars for the year, thanks to strong sales of its cancer treatments. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is also expecting a double-digit revenue growth for 2021.

Reddit's valuation doubles to $6B after funding round

Reddit has raised more than 250 million dollars in a new round of funding, that doubled its valuation to six- billion dollars. The funding came after the social media platform gained attention for its role in the recent Wall Street trading mania. The company also said, it's planning to double the number of its employees this year.

Total reports 66% plunge in full-year profit to $4.06B

Total has reported a sharp fall in full-year earnings as the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on the energy sector. Net profit at the French oil major fell 66 percent from a year ago to 4-point-06 billion dollars, hit by lower energy prices. The company also took charges of 8-point-1 billion dollars last year, to cover asset write-downs.

Chinese car sales jump 25% year-on-year in January

Car sales in China rose more than expected in January, as the world's biggest auto market recovers from lows hit during coronavirus lockdowns. Retail sales of passenger cars rose 25 percent from a year ago, to 2-point-16 million vehicles. But, sales slowed from the previous month, as semi-conductor chip shortages hit production.

Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla invests $1.5B in bitcoin

Tesla has announced it bought 1-and-a-half billion dollars worth of Bitcoin in January as part of its efforts to diversify its investments. In a regulatory filing, the electric carmaker also said it will start accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment for its products. The news sent bitcoin rallying to a new record high of 44-thousand dollars.

SoftBank sees WeWork recovery, Q3 net profit soars to $11B

Softbank net profit soared to 11 billion dollars in the third quarter, thanks to the global rally in tech stocks. The figure marks a more than twenty-fold jump from a year ago, when profits were almost wiped out due to troubles with its office-sharing business, WeWork. The Japanese group's Vision Fund also swung to a record 8-billion dollar profit during the period.

Boohoo buys three brands from Arcadia for $34.6M

British online fashion retailer Boohoo has agreed to buy Dorothy Perkins and two other brands from Arcadia for 34-point-6 million dollars. But the deal does NOT include the group's high-street stores, putting 2-and-a half thousand jobs at risk. Philip Green's Arcadia fashion empire went into administration last year, becoming Britain's largest corporate casualty of the pandemic.

US economy adds 49,000 jobs in January

US jobs growth rebounded in the first month of 2021 as authorities began easing coronavirus restrictions on businesses. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 49-thousand in January, following a decline of 140-thousand in December. The unemployment rate also fell to 6-point-3 percent, but it's still well above the 3-and- a-half percent rate from a year ago.

Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala close to leading WTO

Nigeria's former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is set to to become the first African and the first woman to lead the World Trade Organization. That's after South Korea's candidate dropped-out of the race following mounting diplomatic pressure. The global trade watchdog has been without a leader since August 2020 when Brazil's Roberto Azevedo stepped down.

Shares in Kuaishou nearly triple in Hong Kong debut

Shares in TokTok rival, Kuaishou, nearly tripled on their first day of trading in Hong Kong, giving it a valuation of 180-billion dollars. The Chinese online video operator raised 5-point-7 billion dollars after pricing its shares at the top of its expected range. It's the largest tech IPO since the ride-hailing company, Uber, raised 8-billion dollars in 2019.

UK, EU to probe Nvidia’s $40B acquisition of Arm Holdings

The UK and EU will open a probe into Nvidia's 40-billion- dollar acquisition of British chip designer, Arm Holdings, from Softbank. Regulators will consider whether Arm has an incentive to withdraw or reduce the quality of its services to Nvidia's rivals. The deal was part of Softbank's strategy to shift towards becoming a global investment and asset management powerhouse.

Report: McKinsey agrees to pay $573M to settle opioid claims

McKinsey has reportedly agreed to pay 573-million dollars to resolve claims over its role in the opioid epidemic in the US. That's according to the Associated Press. The consulting firm came under scrutiny for advising Purdue Pharma and its owners the Sackler family on how to boost sales of the prescription opioid, OxyContin.

China's Xiaomi to open production facility in Turkey

China's leading electronic device maker, Xiaomi, is planning to open a production facility in Turkey with an investment of 30 million dollars. The company says it will employ around 2-thousand people at the plant, which will have an annual production capacity of 5 million smartphones. The plant is scheduled to start production in the first quarter of this year.