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☆ Li Hui: Beijing attempts to play peacemaker with planned trip by special envoy to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

A source within the Ukrainian government told CNN earlier this week that a Chinese envoy would be in Kyiv Tuesday and Wednesday, though Ukraine has not released further details. Beijing’s ties with Moscow have been under close scrutiny over the past week as European officials discussed a recalibration of the bloc’s China strategy. On Monday ahead of Li’s expected arrival in Ukraine, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called for Ukraine’s peace plan to be the basis of efforts to resolve the conflict. It is therefore the one that should set out the core principles for a just peace,” she said in Brussels. Ukraine, the US and more than 100 nations have called for peace predicated on the unconditional withdrawal of Russia troops from Ukrainian territory.

☆ We're pulling out the 2011 market playbook to navigate the current debt-ceiling debacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The looming U.S. debt-ceiling crisis has ignited a new wave of uncertainty in the market this week, with all three major benchmarks under pressure Tuesday. That's the biggest lesson learned from the debt-ceiling crisis of 2011, which was characterized by similar political dynamics. Nonetheless, stocks mounted a recovery in the fall of 2011, with the S & P 500 finishing the year essentially flat. We expect the current crisis to ultimately yield a similar result — both in terms of a political resolution and a buying opportunity in the interim. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

“And we kind of thought that they were going to take us.”They waited, well into the early hours of the morning – before finally getting an email from the US State Department. However, the US State Department has advised that American citizens in Sudan “should have no expectation of a US government-coordinated evacuation at this time” due to the security situation and the closure of the airport in Khartoum. “It is imperative that US citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances,” said State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel at a news briefing last Friday. The French Embassy in Sudan was carrying out a separate evacuation for French citizens, and foreigners of other nationalities were welcome. Welker also argued that Americans in Sudan are largely there for humanitarian and educational reasons – and that the US should help retrieve all those who want to leave.

☆ With Zelensky call, Xi Jinping steps up bid to broker peace – but does he have a plan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands after signing a joint statement in Moscow on March 21, 2023. But another set of optics, Beijing’s close rapport with Moscow, has already embedded a deep skepticism in the West over China’s potential role as mediator. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Xi has claimed China’s neutrality, but has spoken with Putin five times – including twice in person – without picking up the phone to call Zelensky, despite a years-long strategic-level partnership between their countries. It calls for a ceasefire but includes no provision that Moscow first withdraw its troops from Ukrainian land. But this rapport has also been the reason that some leaders, including Zelensky and Macron, have expressed hope that Xi could leverage his clout to influence Russia to respect international law.

☆ China's economy will grow 5% this year, Fitch Ratings says in upgraded forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China's economy will expand by 5% in 2023, Fitch Ratings said in a revised forecast on Wednesday – an improved outlook from its previous 4.1% growth prediction made in December. Fitch also pointed to China's latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing and services, a measure of business activity, that indicated further growth. China's official manufacturing PMI reading rose to 50.1 in January from a previous reading of 47, and its services PMI rose to 54.4, the highest level since June 2022. A value above 50 indicates expansion of economic activity; a reading below 50 points to a contraction. The economists also noted China's gross domestic product reading in December was better than Fitch had expected.

☆ At Walt Disney, the G in ESG stands for goofy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It’s sadly fitting that Walt Disney (DIS.N) persists with Mickey Mouse corporate governance. The $176 billion entertainment empire on Wednesday appointed Nike (NKE.N) Chairman Mark Parker to run its board, too. Parker, who has been a director at Disney since 2016, was around for all of it. Parker has been a Disney director since 2016, and he also serves as executive chairman of Nike. Disney also said that shareholder Trian Partners had nominated founding partner Nelson Peltz to serve on the company’s board.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's $470 million Robinhood stake is set to be seized by US authorities, attorney says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's Robinhood shares are set to be seized by US authorities, an attorney said Wednesday. Bankman-Fried, FTX's new bosses, bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and FTX creditor Yonatan Ben Shimon have all laid claim to the Robinhood stake, per a December 22 court filing. Bankman-Fried disclosed a 7.6% stake in Robinhood in May, acquiring 56.3 million shares in the trading platform for $648 million through an Antigua-based holding company called Emergent Fidelity Technologies. Robinhood shares traded at $8.36 as of Wednesday's closing bell – meaning that Emergent's position is now worth just over $470 million. Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried is facing off against FTX's new bosses in a 4-way battle for $450 million of Robinhood shares

☆ Meta plans to appeal $414 million fine amid row over consent for ad tracking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta was fined $414 million by Ireland's Data Protection Commission on Wednesday. Max Schrems, who submitted the complaint, told Insider Meta will need to ask for users' consent. The company was hit with two fines on Wednesday – one for Facebook and one for Instagram – by Ireland's Data Protection Commission for violating the Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws. This refers to one of the GDPR act's six legal bases for processing users' data. The European Commission and Irish Data Protection Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

☆ Asian FX bulls return as easing China COVID curbs improves outlook - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Upasana Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Long positions on most other emerging Asian currencies also firmed, with those on the Malaysian ringgit and South Korean won at around two-year highs, a fortnightly poll of 10 analysts showed. Elsewhere, sentiment on China's yuan was mostly neutral, while investors turned bullish on the Philippine peso for the first time since July 2021. Long positions on the Thai baht were at their highest level since late February, while those on the Singaporean dollar were highest since early February. A turnabout of that impulse should benefit high-beta, risk-sensitive and commodity-linked FX," Barclays' analysts wrote in a note. The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3.

☆ Meta staff are hitting out at Mark Zuckerberg in Blind reviews because they think his metaverse obsession will 'single-handedly kill' the company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta employees are posting negative comments about Mark Zuckerberg on anonymous forum Blind. Some reviews, posted on Wednesday – the day Meta laid off 13% of its workforce – are negative, although others are more positive. Some 44 employee reviews of Meta were posted on Blind on Wednesday and Thursday this week. They added: "Mark Zuckerberg will single-handedly kill a company with the meta-verse." Meta employees have posted almost 6,000 reviews of the company on Blind since 2020 and it has a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

☆ 'The Metaverse will be our slow death': Meta employees hit out at Mark Zuckerberg in Blind reviews
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta employees are posting negative comments about Mark Zuckerberg on anonymous forum Blind. Some reviews, posted on Wednesday – the day Meta laid off 13% of its workforce – are negative, although others are more positive. They added: "Mark Zuckerberg will single-handedly kill a company with the meta-verse." Meta employees have posted almost 6,000 reviews of the company on Blind since 2020 and it has a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Not all Meta employees share the negative view of Zuckerberg, however.

☆ Bank of America downgrades Silvergate as latest crypto shakeup gives market a 'black eye'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The latest turmoil in crypto could hurt Silvergate Capital as investors lose confidence in the bank's chances of getting a stablecoin approved, according to Bank of America. Analyst Brandon Berman downgraded the crypto bank stock to neutral from buy and lowered his price target to $37 from $72. Berman said SIlvergate launching a stablecoin is a key part of his optimism about the stock. Berman said institutional clients could move deposits from FTX to Silvergate or a competitor. He said SIlvergate is not expected to incur loan losses or forced liquidations from the move or other major events in the crypto world.

The video, which was posted to Twitter, shows a crowd of people, some carrying and others draped in the Brazilian flag, with many apparently performing a Nazi salute as the Brazilian national anthem plays. It’s unclear who posted the video and CNN has not been able to verify its authenticity. Nazi incitement is a crime in Brazil. Brazilian authorities will investigate the video. @CentralEleicoes/TwiiterA Brazilian Jewish organization, the Brazilian Israeli Confederation, released a statement condemning the image as “disgusting.”“Brazilian society cannot tolerate gestures like this.

☆ If 8% inflation is worrying, 3% could be worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But what if inflation doesn’t go back to 2%, and instead sticks somewhere higher, like 3%? Some measures suggest that inflation is coming down, such as the sharp drop in how long it’s taking manufacturers to get deliveries. For a central bank, the nightmare scenario is one where inflation subsides to a level above its target and then plateaus. Some Democrats already argue the Fed’s rate hikes hurt the poor; some Republicans blame Powell for letting inflation run amok in the first place. Rate hikes could trigger a recession, a state that’s painful but has tended to bring inflation down quickly in the past.

☆ A top Twitch creator exec has resigned from the livestreaming giant
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitch's SVP of global creators Constance Knight has resigned from the livestreaming company. Her exit arrives amid an explosive week at Twitch that included a divisive change to its monetization model. Twitch's SVP of global creators Constance Knight is leaving the company, a Twitch spokesperson has confirmed to Insider. Knight joined Twitch in July 2021 from Instagram, where she formerly served as global head of content curation for short-form video. The move sparked backlash on Twitter among some top Twitch creators and former employees, with even former COO Sara Clemens seeming to disapprove of the changes.

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares fall as Fed signals more rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBENGALURU, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Thursday, in line with Asian peers, while the rupee hit a record low after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates and indicated more hikes than markets had expected. The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) fell 0.53% at 17,624, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) slipped 0.51% to 59,150 as of 0346 GMT. The Indian rupee hit a record low of 80.45 against the U.S. dollar. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe Fed increased rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday – the third such rise in a row – and signalled that it would continue to raise borrowing costs to fight inflation. read moreIndia's central bank is due to meet next week to decide on its own path for monetary policy.

☆ How to take advantage of rising interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-27 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Here are a few ways to situate your money so that you can benefit from rising rates, and protect yourself from their downside. Otherwise, any remaining balance will be subject to a new interest rate that could be higher than you had before if rates continue to rise. Home loans: Lock in fixed rates nowMortgage rates have been rising over the past year. That said, “don’t jump into a large purchase that isn’t right for you just because interest rates might go up. Bonds: Go shortTo the extent you already own bonds, the prices on your bonds will fall in a rising rate environment.

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