U.S. natural gas prices last week plunged to a 30-month low, crossing below $2 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for the second time this year, even as some producers have cut drilling to stave off further convulsions. Since the start of the year, U.S. gas futures have collapsed by about 50%, a record drop […]
Reuters
Credit Suisse and UBS shares fell on Monday after Switzerland’s federal prosecutor opened an investigation into the emergency merger of the two lenders. The office of the attorney general said on Sunday that the prosecutor opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS Group last month, looking into potential breaches of […]
Sight deposits held by the Swiss National Bank declined last week, data showed on Monday, suggesting that Credit Suisse and UBS may have cut back on use of emergency funds offered them to facilitate their planned merger. Total sight deposits – meaning commercial bank cash held by the central bank overnight – fell to 563.566 […]
The pace of interest rate hikes by major developed and emerging market central banks continued at a healthy clip in March though the scale of rises tapered off somewhat as turmoil in the banking sector clouded the outlook for global growth. March saw six interest rate hikes across eight meetings by central banks overseeing the […]
Japan’s industry ministry said on Monday it aimed to treble sales of semiconductors made in Japan to 15 trillion yen ($112.55 billion) by 2030 as Tokyo strives to boost domestic microchip production following global supply chain snarls. Japan sees microchips as strategic products to strengthen its economic security and is providing hefty subsidies to Taiwan […]
Tesla Inc on Sunday posted record quarterly vehicle deliveries, but quarter-on-quarter sales growth was modest despite price cuts as rising competition and a bleak economic outlook weighed. Tesla delivered 422,875 vehicles for the first three months of this year, up 4% from the previous quarter. This was 36% higher than a year ago. In January, […]
Last year, Kris Kashtanova typed instructions for a graphic novel into a new artificial-intelligence program and touched off a high-stakes debate over who created the artwork: a human or an algorithm. “Zendaya leaving gates of Central Park,” Kashtanova entered into Midjourney, an AI program similar to ChatGPT that produces dazzling illustrations from written prompts. “Sci-fi […]
Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell on Monday as soaring oil prices renewed worries of persistent inflationary pressures, while energy stocks surged at the start of the week. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers announced further oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day, threatening an immediate rise in […]
The dollar stumbled on Monday, surrendering earlier gains following unexpected oil output cuts from OPEC+, as data showed the U.S. economy continued to slow with declines in manufacturing and construction spending. Data on Monday added to the narrative that the Federal Reserve is near the end of its rate-hike cycle. An announcement on Sunday of […]
China was strongly dissatisfied with Japan’s export restrictions on chip manufacturing equipment, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday. China hoped Japan would act on its statements of cooperation with China and take an objective stance, Mao told reporters at a regular briefing. Japan said on Friday it would restrict exports of 23 […]