U.S. job growth seen accelerating in December; record job creation anticipated for 2021
U.S. employment growth likely picked up in December, culminating in record job creation in 2021, but the labor market could temporarily lose its luster as raging COVID-19 infections cause disruptions at businesses and schools.
Shell pursues $7 billion buyback ‘at pace’ despite LNG troubles
Royal Dutch Shell said it will pursue “at pace” a $7 billion share buyback largely funded from the sale of its U.S. shale business as it faces liquefied natural gas (LNG) outages and slower fuel sales due to the economic hit from Omicron.
HSBC, UBS order Hong Kong office changes as COVID cases rise
Banks in Hong Kong including HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) and UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) are taking steps to reduce the number of people at the workplace after having operated at near full capacity for the past few months, as the city faces a spike in COVID-19 cases.
World food prices hit 10-year high in 2021
World food prices jumped 28% in 2021 to their highest level in a decade and hopes for a return to more stable market conditions this year are slim, the U.N.’s food agency said on Thursday.
Credit Agricole offers to buy Italy’s bank Carige -newspaper
France’s Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) has offered to buy troubled lender Banca Carige (CRGI.MI) for a euro, Italian daily Il Messaggero said on Thursday, sending shares in the Italian lender up more than 3%.
When the hawks sing
All it took was the minutes of a three-week old U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting to change the mood music in global markets. The Fed’s December meeting minutes showed officials had discussed shrinking the U.S. central bank’s overall asset holdings as well as raising interest rates sooner than expected to fight inflation. read more That sent global markets in a tailspin with investors heading for the exits.
Oil slips from one-month high after U.S. fuel inventory surge
Oil prices lost ground on Thursday, falling from their highest levels in more than a month after U.S. fuel stockpiles surged amid declining demand.
Vietnam car maker VinFast to build U.S. battery factory as it goes all-electric
Vietnam’s VinFast plans to build electric vehicle battery cells and packs in a new U.S. manufacturing complex, its global chief executive told Reuters, as the company pledged to transform itself into an all-electric automaker by the end of this year.
Futures subdued as tech stocks extend fall; Fed minutes awaited
U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Wednesday ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, even as big technology stocks continued to fall, with Salesforce.com declining after a brokerage downgrade.
WonderFi to buy parent company of Canadian crypto platform Bitbuy for about $162 mln
WonderFi Technologies Inc (WNDR.NLB), backed by investor Kevin O’Leary, agreed to buy Bitbuy’s parent company First Ledger Corp for about C$206 million ($162.13 million), giving it full ownership of the Canadian crypto marketplace.
