Month: February 2018

Apple is launching medical clinics to deliver the ‘world’s best health care experience’ to its employees

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Apple is launching a group of health clinics called AC Wellness for its own employees and their families this spring, according to several sources familiar with the company’s plans.

The company quietly published a website, acwellness.com, with more details about its initiative and a careers page listing jobs including primary care doctor, exercise coach, and care navigator, as well as a phlebotomist to administer lab tests on-site.

This new primary care group will initially only serve Apple’s employees in Santa Clara County, where its headquarters are located. At present, it includes only two clinics.

Development appears to be well underway.

A job listing for the “network” posted on Indeed.com details “multiple, stunning state-of-the-art medical centers,” in Santa Clara, California, a few miles north of its headquarters in Cupertino. One of the centers is at the new Apple Park campus, another job listing states.

And a LinkedIn search reveals that at least former Stanford Health Care employees have been affiliated with AC Wellness for at least five months, although there’s no mention of Apple on the people’s profiles. Several of the job listings on Apple’s site as of February 27, however, describe AC Wellness as a “subsidiary of Apple, Inc.”

The news comes as Amazon has launched its own effort with Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan to improve health care for those companies’ employees.

Delivering better primary care is key to the success of all of these employee-led efforts, as it’s far cheaper to prevent disease than treat people who are already sick.

Health problems result in 69 million workers reporting missed days each year, reducing economic output by $260 billion per year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Aside from the typical roles involved with a primary care clinic, Apple is also looking to hire “designers” who will help implement a program focused on preventing disease and promoting healthy behavior. It’s looking for a population health designer and clinical program design lead, listings show.

These designers will work with operations and technology teams.

Sources said the company will leverage its medical clinics as a way to test out its growing range of health services and products, which it is starting to roll out to consumers at large.

It is currently working with Stanford to study whether its Apple Watch can detect irregularities with the heart’s rhythm, an effort that would benefit from a huge population of healthy and sick patients.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told shareholders that it could make a “significant contribution” in health care.

Apple recently scaled back its contract with its current in-house clinic via a start-up called Crossover Health, which CNBC reported that it had considered buying.

Sources said that it started notifying third-party vendors about the shift to its own network of health clinics this week.

Additional AC Wellness jobs are also listed on Glassdoor and Indeed.com.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Warren Buffett says he prefers equities over bonds – here’s why

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Warren Buffett believes long-term investors should buy stocks over bonds.

“If you had to choose between buying long-term bonds or equities, I would choose equities in a minute,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday in a wide-ranging interview. “If I were going to own a 30-year government bond or own equities for 30 years, I think equities will considerably outperform that 30-year bond.”

“So far this year, we’ve been a net buyer” of stocks, he added.

In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders released on Saturday, Buffett blasted the belief that bonds were a lower-risk investment over the long term. He recommended investors stay in equities due to the negative impact from inflation on the purchasing power of fixed-income holdings.

“I want to quickly acknowledge that in any upcoming day, week or even year, stocks will be riskier – far riskier – than short-term U.S. bonds,” he wrote. “As an investor’s investment horizon lengthens, however, a diversified portfolio of U.S. equities becomes progressively less risky than bonds, assuming that the stocks are purchased at a sensible multiple of earnings relative to then-prevailing interest rates.”

“It is a terrible mistake for investors with long-term horizons – among them, pension funds, college endowments and savings-minded individuals – to measure their investment ‘risk’ by their portfolio’s ratio of bonds to stocks. Often, high-grade bonds in an investment portfolio increase its risk.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asian shares notch gains after Wall Street rallies; Nikkei jumps 292 points

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Asian markets rose early on Monday, tracking gains seen on Wall Street as US bond yields receded from recent four-year highs in the last session.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 soared 292.69 points, or 1.34 percent, with technology stocks, financials and automakers higher on the day. Among index heavyweights, SoftBank Group jumped 1.79 percent and Fast Retailing rose 1.34 percent.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi added 0.42 percent while the junior Kosdaq saw more significant gains, climbing 1.05 percent in early trade.

Amid the mixed tech sector, heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 0.21 percent after unveiling its new Galaxy S9 model on Sunday. Shares of chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 1.03 percent and LG Display was up 0.83 percent.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.38 percent as the index reclaimed the 6,000 level. The heavily weighted financials sector rose 0.61 percent, making it one of the best-performing sectors in the morning. Gains were also seen in the energy sector, which rose 0.94 percent as Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search rose 1.43 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

On the earnings front, Hong Kong’s CLP and Hutchison Telecommunications are among the regional corporates expected to report on Monday.

Gains in the region tracked the rally seen on Wall Street on Friday, which saw US stock indexes notching gains of more than 1 percent. The S&P 500 closed higher by 1.6 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.39 percent in the last session.

The Dow and S&P 500 finished the week with gains of 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy report released on Friday indicated “gradual adjustments” in policy ahead, given how policymakers saw the US economy past full employment.

The release of the report came ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress on Tuesday. Markets are awaiting his comments for clues on the central bank’s interest rate hike path.

In individual stocks, Australia’s BlueScope Steel rose 4.87 percent after the company reported first-half net profit after tax rose 23 percent to come in at 441.2 million Australian dollars (USD 345.8 million). It also announced that its share buyback would be extended by AUSD 150 million.

In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, traded at 89.976 at 8:28 a.m. HK/SIN, firmer than Friday’s close of 89.884. Against the yen, the dollar traded at 107.03.

On the commodities front, oil prices were steady after touching two-week highs in the previous session. The gains last week came after a surprise decline in US crude inventories and a shutdown of a Libyan oilfield.

US crude futures was flat at USD 63.55 per barrel and Brent crude futures was off by 0.03 percent at USD 67.29.

What’s on Tap

The economic calendar for Monday is light on data (all times in HK/SIN):

1:00 p.m.: Singapore industrial production
4:00 p.m.: Taiwan unemployment rate

Ahead, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is expected to speak during European hours.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Elon Musk takes a swipe at Uber’s flying cars

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk doesn’t seem to be a fan of flying cars.

The billionaire entrepreneur responded to a question sent via Twitter by journalist Anirban Ghoshal on behalf of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Khosrowshahi asked about why Musk is focused on developing a Hyperloop transportation system connecting Washington D.C. and New York instead of flight.

Musk compared flying cars to drones that are “1,000 times bigger and noisier.”

“If you love drones above your house, you’ll really love vast numbers of ‘cars’ flying over your head that are 1,000 times bigger and noisier and blow away anything that isn’t nailed down when they land,” Musk said in his response on the social media site.

If you love drones above your house, you’ll really love vast numbers of “cars” flying over your head that are 1000 times bigger and noisier and blow away anything that isn’t nailed down when they land

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2018

Uber has been working on a flying taxi project for some time, and in November said it was partnering with NASA to create an air traffic control system for it. Earlier in 2017, the firm teamed up with the governments of Dallas-Fort Worth and Dubai with the aim of prioritizing those cities with its flying cars.

Khosrowshahi responded to Musk, saying that improved battery technology, such as that made by Elon Musk’s Tesla, and multiple smaller rotors would make the firm’s flying cars more environmentally friendly and less noisy. 

Challenge accepted. Improved battery tech (thx 2 @elonmusk) and multiple smaller rotors will be much more efficient and avoid noise + environmental pollution. https://t.co/563U0RqDYF

— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) February 22, 2018

Musk received a permit for preparation and preliminary excavation of a site in Washington D.C. for his Hyperloop project earlier this week.

Uber’s Khosrowshahi is in India as part of a two-day visit to the country. He dismissed rumours that Uber was planning to pull out of Southeast Asia, saying that the firm expects to invest “aggressively” despite not making any money in the region.

CNBC reported earlier this month that the company is preparing to sell its Southeast Asia unit to Singaporean ride-hailing firm Grab in exchange for a stake in the company.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Justin Trudeau’s India visit deemed a ‘slow-moving train wreck’ amid claims he was ‘snubbed’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is this week visiting India, but the young politician — known for rock-star treatment on the international stage — is not getting much of a reception in the South Asian giant.

Media in the country has had its attention occupied by the scandal over the Punjab National Bank fraud case, and top officials have an ax to grind with the Canadian, experts said.

“Mr. Trudeau, I must, say is barely even in the news here,” Vivek Dehejia, a resident senior fellow at the IDFC Institute, an India-based think tank.

International and Canadian outlets, however, have been making news out of a potential “snub.”

According to many commentators in the media, the Indian government is wary of Trudeau for his alleged ties to advocates for a separate Sikh homeland, called Khalistan, in the Punjab region.

In fact, Canada’s National Post notes that Trudeau’s cabinet has had four Sikhs in it, including one who an Indian official labeled a sympathizer to the separatists. The Canadian leader, the National Post says, once even bragged that his cabinet had more Sikhs in it than Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s.

“[The trip] is best described as a slow-moving train wreck … Very little substance has come out of it and very little actually will emerge from this visit apart from some nice photo ops,” Dehejia told CNBC on Wednesday.

Dehejia said he believes Trudeau’s visit was orchestrated to appease the significant Sikh population in Canada, making the international trip essentially about domestic politics. Trudeau’s schedule for his visit to India has been scrutinized for including only half-a-day of official state engagements in New Delhi.

For its part, India’s government has denied snubbing Trudeau, with official sources telling The Times of India that it was Canada that asked for official engagement to take place at the end of the trip.

The paper said Trudeau was willing to address “the strong perception in India that Trudeau’s Liberal government has failed to rein in pro-Khalistan elements active in Canada.”

The Canadian side, meanwhile, has also denied any diplomatic cold shoulder, with Trudeau telling a news channel that he’d met Modi “very recently.”

Either way, Dehejia said, Trudeau isn’t making the kinds of waves in India that he may be used to.

“Trudeau is used to being seen as a rock star, as being on the front pages. He’s made a couple of page-three appearances because of his very nice Indian ethnic wear and his very photogenic family. But apart from that, really he’s not playing much here,” Dehejia explained.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asian shares slip as the dollar firms; Nikkei falls more than 1%

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Asian shares traded lower on Tuesday after a relatively quiet overnight session, due to U.S. markets being closed for a holiday on Monday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.26 percent as financials, manufacturing and energy-related names traded in negative territory, while technology stocks traded mixed.

Automakers were mostly lower, with Toyota down 1.22 percent. Mitsubishi Motors gave up early gains to slip 0.36 percent. The moves followed a Nikkei report that Mitsubishi Corporation was looking into raising its stake in Mitsubishi Motors to approximately 20 percent through a tender offer. Mitsubishi Corporation, which traded down 1.75 percent, said it had yet to reach a decision, according to Reuters.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.89 percent, with losses seen in heavyweight technology names: Samsung Electronics fell 2.23 percent and SK Hynix declined 1.44 percent.

The manufacturing sector was mixed in the morning. Shares of steelmakers Posco and Hyundai Steel pared early gains of more than 1 percent to trade lower by 0.28 percent and 0.57 percent, respectively. The moves came after South Korea’s trade ministry on Monday indicated it would not sit on its hands if the U.S. implemented tariffs on steel imports. Yonhap News Agency said South Korea would weigh filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization if the U.S. decided to impose those tariffs.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 was off by 0.35 percent in morning trade as the 1.22 percent gain in the information technology sector was offset by declines seen in other sectors. The heavily weighted financials sub-index slipped 0.55 percent, and the materials sub-index was lower by 0.84 percent.

Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia released on Tuesday indicated policymakers were sanguine about the uptick in the global economy. RBA members also noted that wage growth “was yet to pick up” despite the robust job market and highlighted that household debt remained “elevated.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.85 percent as markets resumed trade after a long Lunar New Year weekend. Property developers, telcos and energy-related stocks slid in early trade, while technology stocks were mixed. Heavyweight Tencent shed 0.4 percent early on.

Shares of HSBC slipped 0.24 percent ahead of its release of full-year earnings due later in the day, although those losses were not as steep as declines seen among its peers. China Construction Bank fell 2.24 percent, insurer AIA lost 1.82 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was down 2.43 percent.

Markets in China, Taiwan and Vietnam remained closed on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holiday.

On the earnings front, interim results from mining major BHP are due after the market close in Australia.

European stock indexes closed in negative territory on Monday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 finishing the day 0.66 percent lower. Other indexes in the region also closed with moderate losses.

Volumes were weaker than usual in the last session due to U.S. markets being closed on Monday for Presidents Day.

After a quiet overnight session, the dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of rivals, firmed to trade at 89.349 at 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN. That was below a high of 89.442 hit in the last session, but firmly above last week’s low of 88.253.

Against the yen, the greenback traded at 106.73, off a low of 106.08 touched on Monday.

The Australian dollar slipped to trade at $0.7894. The currency had traded at levels around the $0.79 handle before the release of minutes from the country’s central bank.

“In the near term, the Australian dollar remains trapped. Poor U.S. dollar sentiment continues to provide support, but a low yield structure and unchanged domestic story are providing few catalysts for renewed upside,” David Plank, head of Australian economics at ANZ, said in a morning note.

On the commodities front, oil prices traded mixed on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.07 percent to trade at $62.34 per barrel while Brent crude futures shed 0.4 percent to trade at $65.41.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

George Soros compares Facebook, Google to casinos, accuses them of ‘deliberately engineering addiction’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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George Soros has compared social media companies to casinos, accusing them of deceiving users “by manipulating their attention” and “deliberately engineering addiction” to their services, arguing that they should be broken up.

Writing on opinion website Project Syndicate, the billionaire investor singled out Facebook and Google, and said while they had often played an “innovative and liberating role,” they had become “obstacles to innovation” as they became more powerful.

Soros said that the two firms profit from making users stick on their sites for long period of times. Due to the size of the companies, content providers have to “accept whatever terms they are offered,” but that is only helping the internet firms become more profitable.

“Indeed, the exceptional profitability of these companies is largely a function of their avoiding responsibility – and payment – for the content on their platforms,” Soros wrote.

“The companies claim that they are merely distributing information. But the fact that they are near-monopoly distributors makes them public utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulation, aimed at preserving competition, innovation and fair and open access.”

As Facebook and Google grow, they are looking to bundle more services to offer to consumers. Soros said they “exploit the data they control” and use “discriminatory pricing” to do this.

“Social media companies deceive their users by manipulating their attention, directing it toward their own commercial purposes, and deliberately engineering addiction to the services they provide. This can be very harmful, particularly for adolescents,” Soros wrote.

“There is a similarity between Internet platforms and gambling companies. Casinos have developed techniques to hook customers to the point that they gamble away all of their money, even money they don’t have.”

Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Soros accused social media companies of “inducing people to surrender their autonomy” with the power to shape people’s attention “concentrated in the hands of a few companies.”

The danger, for the billionaire investor, is that these “data-rich IT monopolies” could form an alliance with authoritarian states that way “may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of which not even George Orwell could have imagined.”

This could happen in Russia and China first, according to Soros. He said that European Union (EU) regulators are more “farsighted” than those in the U.S. when it comes to social policies.

Soros referenced the work done by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who hit Google with a 2.4 billion euro fine ($3 billion) in 2017 after the search giant was found in violation of antitrust rules.

Such moves by regulators could break up the tech giants, Soros claimed.

“It is only a matter of time before the global dominance of the U.S. internet companies is broken. Regulation and taxation, spearheaded by Vestager, will be their undoing,” Soros wrote.

The investor has been critical of Facebook and Google over the past few weeks. On Wednesday, regulatory filings revealed that his firm Soros Fund Management had dumped all of its 109,451 shares of Facebook in the fourth quarter of 2017, although it did buy 1,600 shares of Google parent Alphabet in the same period.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asia trades mostly higher as markets in Greater China remain on holiday

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Asian markets mostly rose on Monday after the U.S.’s S&P 500 extended its winning streak on Friday to six days. Markets in the Greater China region remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 428.96 points, or 1.97 percent, to 22,149.21, while the Topix index added 37.78 points, or 2.17 percent, to 1,775.15. South Korea’s Kospi index added 20.99 points, or 0.87 percent, to 2,442.82.

Meanwhile, Australia’s ASX 200 reversed early losses to finish up 37.6 points, or 0.64 percent, at 5,941.6. The heavily weighted financial subindex rose 0.56 percent, while the energy sector fell 1.26 percent and the materials subindex reversed losses to climb 0.23 percent.

Oil stocks in Australia traded mixed. Shares of Santos rose 2.58 percent, Oil Search was up 2.02 percent and Beach Energy added 7.11 percent. Woodside Petroleum declined 6.85 percent, however, after the company said it completed the institutional component of its 2.5 billion Australian dollar ($1.98 billion) share sale, announced on Feb. 14. Woodside raised gross proceeds of about A$1.57 billion at A$27 per new share.

Major indexes in the U.S. had ended off their session highs on Friday after news broke that special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Meanwhile, in the currency market, the Japanese yen traded at 106.57 to the dollar at 2:24 p.m. HK/SIN, coming off an earlier high of 106.08. Still, the yen had strengthened from levels above 108 in the previous week. Major export stocks traded up, with Toyota shares climbing 2.37 percent, Honda up 2.04 percent and Sony adding 0.78 percent.

The Australian dollar traded at $0.7916 at 2:25 p.m. HK/SIN, falling from levels near $0.7980 reached last week.

Elsewhere, the dollar index remained relatively stable and traded at 89.127 at 2:26 p.m. HK/SIN, coming off an earlier high of 89.175. Last week, the index fell from levels above 90 to near 88.200 before recovering slightly.

“The U.S. dollar staged a minor comeback for no obvious reason other than position squaring into the U.S. holiday weekend, with euro leading the move and yen lagging but still managing to fully recoup the APAC session swoon to end marginally weaker on the day,” Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at the National Bank of Australia, wrote in a morning note.

He pointed out that for the week, the dollar was still lower in index terms with losses led by the yen strength.

The U.S. market will be closed on Monday for Presidents Day.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asia trades higher; Nikkei up 1.1%, Kospi up 0.9% and ASX up 0.4%

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Asian markets rose in morning trade on Monday, after the U.S.’s S&P 500 extended its winning streak on Friday to six days. Markets in the Greater China region remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.13 percent in early trade, while the Topix index was up 1.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.87 percent.

Meanwhile, after the first hour of trade, Australia’s ASX 200 reversed early losses to trade up 0.36 percent. The heavily weighted financial subindex rose 0.39 percent, while the energy sector fell 1.07 percent and materials fell 0.12 percent.

Oil stocks in Australia traded mixed. Shares of Santos rose 1.39 percent, Oil Search was up 2.96 percent and Beach Energy added 4.74 percent.

But Woodside Petroleum declined 5.91 percent after the company said it completed the institutional component of its 2.5 billion Australian dollar ($1.98 billion) share sale, announced on Feb. 14. Woodside raised gross proceeds of about A$1.57 billion at A$27 per new share.

Still, major indexes in the U.S. ended off their session highs after news broke that special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Meanwhile, in the currency market, the Japanese yen traded at 106.32 to the dollar at 8:14 a.m. HK/SIN, coming off an earlier high of 106.11. Still, the yen had strengthened from levels above 108 in the previous week. Major export stocks traded up, with Toyota shares climbing 1.3 percent, Honda up 1.48 percent and Sony adding 0.42 percent.

The Australian dollar traded at $0.7914 at 8:17 a.m. HK/SIN, falling from levels near $0.7980 reached last week.

Elsewhere, the dollar index traded at 89.078, coming off an earlier high of 89.115. Last week, the index fell from levels above 90 to near 88.200 before recovering slightly.

“The U.S. dollar staged a minor comeback for no obvious reason other than position squaring into the U.S. holiday weekend, with euro leading the move and yen lagging but still managing to fully recoup the APAC session swoon to end marginally weaker on the day,” Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at the National Bank of Australia, wrote in a morning note.

He pointed out that for the week, the dollar was still lower in index terms with losses led by the yen strength.

The U.S. market will be closed on Monday for Presidents Day.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

UK blames Russia for cyberattack, says won’t tolerate disruption

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Britain blamed Russia on Thursday for a cyber-attack last year, publicly pointing the finger at Moscow for spreading a virus which disrupted companies across Europe including UK-based Reckitt Benckiser, CNBC reported quoting Reuters.

The so-called NotPetya attack in June started in Ukraine where it crippled government and business computers before spreading around the world, halting operations at ports, factories and offices.

Britain’s foreign ministry said the attack originated from the Russian military.

“The decision to publicly attribute this incident underlines the fact that the UK and its allies will not tolerate malicious cyber activity,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The attack masqueraded as a criminal enterprise but its purpose was principally to disrupt,” it said.

“Primary targets were Ukrainian financial, energy and government sectors. Its indiscriminate design caused it to spread further, affecting other European and Russian business.”

Moscow has previously denied being behind the NotPetya attack.

Reckitt, a consumer goods maker, as well as Danish shipping company AP Moller-Maersk S/A, were amongst those affected with the total cost of the attack running into hundreds of millions of pounds.

British defence minister Gavin Williamson said the attack was part of a new era of warfare and Britain had to be ready to respond. “We must be primed and ready to tackle these stark and intensifying threats,” he said in a statement.

Britain has recently become more vocal about the threat posed by Russia at a time when some members of the ruling Conservative Party have expressed concern about the impact of cuts to defence spending.

Last November, Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of meddling in elections and planting fake stories in the media.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow