MEF BUSINESS NEWS 28 MARCH 2024 Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller recommends postponing interest rate cuts in response to “disappointing” inflation data. Waller suggests no urgency in lowering the central bank’s target range of 5.25% to 5.5%, citing recent increases in month-on-month price measures. In February, the headline consumer price index rose by 0.4% from the previous month. ———————————- After the Bank of Japan’s first interest rate hike since 2007, board members advocate for a cautious, gradual normalization of policy due to the economy’s condition not requiring rapid rate increases. Governor Kazuo Ueda underscores the importance of maintaining accommodative measures, citing inflation expectations below the 2% target. ———————————- Insurers, particularly those at Lloyd’s of London, may confront up to $3 billion in claims post the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Barclays analysts predict. Damage to the bridge alone could yield $1.2 billion in claims, with further liabilities of $350-700 million for wrongful deaths and unspecified losses from business interruptions due to the port’s closure. ————————— Bain Capital plans to bring in new investors for Chindata to raise funds and expand its data center operations. Chindata, taken private by Bain for $3.2 billion last year, operates hyperscale data centers in China and other countries. ————————— Blockbuster deals, valued at $10 billion or more, more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, the Financial Times reports citing London Stock Exchange data. That indicates a recovery in the mergers and acquisitions market. Driven by large transactions in the US energy, tech, and financial sectors, global M&A value surged by 30% to $690 billion, marking a significant rebound from last year’s pandemic-induced low. —————————- The price of a classic medium-sized Chanel flap bag has surpassed €10,000 in Paris for the first time, reaching €10,300. Chanel has increased the price by 6.2% from earlier this year. Despite weakening demand, Some luxury brand keep pushing prices higher. Paris is traditionally closely watched for luxury goods pricing. —————————— —————————— MEF MOBILE NEWS 28 MARCH 2024 Apple leads a smartphone tumble in China. In February, China’s smartphone market witnessed a significant downturn, with total shipments plunging over 30% year-on-year. Local brands dominated, accounting for 83% of total shipments, while foreign brands, including Apple’s iPhone, shipped only about 2.4 million units, marking a 31.7% decrease. For the first two months of 2024, total smartphone shipments increased by 12.5% to 43.6 million units, with 5G models rising by 13.3% to 38.7 million. Apple faced a decline in iPhone demand in China, with unit sales dropping by 24% year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. ———————————- Telecom Italia remains under scrutiny amidst recent political developments. The government is set to introduce an amendment in early April aimed at supporting the redefinition of tenders awarded to both Open Fiber and Telecom Italia, Trend online reports. These tenders aim to provide high-speed network coverage to gray areas. The amendment addresses delays by Open Fiber, which risk jeopardizing European funds collection. Additionally, the government has reviewed the concession for white areas assigned to Open Fiber and plans to allocate an extra 600 million euros to cover rising energy and raw material costs. —————————— At its first sustainability forum, Singtel unveiled an updated environmental strategy, emphasizing a faster transition to renewable energy and electrification of its Singapore vehicle fleet. CEO Yuen Kuan Moon stressed urgency in addressing the climate crisis and committed to more aggressive Science Based Targets Initiative goals. Singtel aims for 50% renewable energy usage in Singapore and Australia by 2030 and plans to convert its fleet of over 150 vehicles in Singapore to electric by 2028. Additionally, it introduced e-SIM for select customers and collaborated with partners to reduce packaging materials. —————————— Saudi Mobily has been recognized as the fastest-growing telecommunications firm in the Middle East for 2024 by Brand Finance, according to Arab News. The company’s value has surged by approximately 18% compared to the previous year, solidifying its position as a top player in the region’s telecom sector. These rankings reflect Saudi Arabia’s commitment to advancing digital transformation and enhancing ICT services in the Kingdom. —————- —————- MEF TECH NEWS 28 MARCH 2024 AI startup Cohere is close to finalizing a funding round that could value the company at $5 billion. Discussions are underway to raise over $500 million, involving investors from Cohere’s previous Series C round led by Inovia Capital. The timing of the deal’s closure remains undisclosed. Reuters first reported on the talks. —————————————- Amazon is investing an additional $2.75 billion in Anthropic, completing a deal made last year. This brings Amazon’s total investment in the AI startup to $4 billion. Anthropic will use Amazon Web Services data centers and custom-built computer chips, alongside chips from Alphabet’s Google, with whom it also has a partnership. —————————- Shares of Hon Hai soared to a record as a frenzy over artificial intelligence outweighs concerns about a sluggish recovery in the smartphone sector. The Taiwanese maker of Apple iPhones rose as much as 5.1% today. Shares took off this month as its strong quarterly earnings fueled optimism over demand for the company’s AI servers. The AI craze has brought big gains in companies like Nvidia Corp. as investors see massive growth potential for the sector. Hon Hai’s AI server revenue is likely to reach 18% of its total revenue in 2025 due to the rising share of Nvidia shipments, JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note Wednesday. ——————————- Workers at Sega of America, a division of Sega Sammy Holdings, have ratified a historic union contract, marking the first time employees at a major North American video-game company have done so. Covering around 150 employees, the contract includes minimum yearly pay increases and various benefits, Bloomberg reported citing a representative from the Communications Workers of America. ——————————- Xiaomi embarks on its $8 billion stock rally with the launch of its first electric vehicle in China, aiming to challenge Tesla and BYD in the EV market. The SU7 series, a result of a $10 billion investment, will enter a fiercely competitive segment, testing Xiaomi’s technological capabilities. Co-founder Lei Jun sees this as a pivotal moment, with the EV’s reception likely influencing Xiaomi’s stock momentum, which has increased by 22% since February. ————————— —————————
MEF BUSINESS NEWS 28 MARCH 2024 Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller recommends postponing interest rate cuts in response to “disappointing” inflation data. Waller suggests no urgency in lowering the central bank’s target range of 5.25% to 5.5%, citing recent increases in month-on-month price measures. In February, the headline consumer price index rose by 0.4% from the previous month. ———————————- After the Bank of Japan’s first interest rate hike since 2007, board members advocate for a cautious, gradual normalization of policy due to the economy’s condition not requiring rapid rate increases. Governor Kazuo Ueda underscores the importance of maintaining accommodative measures, citing inflation expectations below the 2% target. ———————————- Insurers, particularly those at Lloyd’s of London, may confront up to $3 billion in claims post the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Barclays analysts predict. Damage to the bridge alone could yield $1.2 billion in claims, with further liabilities of $350-700 million for wrongful deaths and unspecified losses from business interruptions due to the port’s closure. ————————— Bain Capital plans to bring in new investors for Chindata to raise funds and expand its data center operations. Chindata, taken private by Bain for $3.2 billion last year, operates hyperscale data centers in China and other countries. ————————— Blockbuster deals, valued at $10 billion or more, more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, the Financial Times reports citing London Stock Exchange data. That indicates a recovery in the mergers and acquisitions market. Driven by large transactions in the US energy, tech, and financial sectors, global M&A value surged by 30% to $690 billion, marking a significant rebound from last year’s pandemic-induced low. —————————- The price of a classic medium-sized Chanel flap bag has surpassed €10,000 in Paris for the first time, reaching €10,300. Chanel has increased the price by 6.2% from earlier this year. Despite weakening demand, Some luxury brand keep pushing prices higher. Paris is traditionally closely watched for luxury goods pricing. —————————— —————————— MEF MOBILE NEWS 28 MARCH 2024 Apple leads a smartphone tumble in China. In February, China’s smartphone market witnessed a significant downturn, with total shipments plunging over 30% year-on-year. Local brands dominated, accounting for 83% of total shipments, while foreign brands, including Apple’s iPhone, shipped only about 2.4 million units, marking a 31.7% decrease. For the first two months of 2024, total smartphone shipments increased by 12.5% to 43.6 million units, with 5G models rising by 13.3% to 38.7 million. Apple faced a decline in iPhone demand in China, with unit sales dropping by 24% year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. ———————————- Telecom Italia remains under scrutiny amidst recent political developments. The government is set to introduce an amendment in early April aimed at supporting the redefinition of tenders awarded to both Open Fiber and Telecom Italia, Trend online reports. These tenders aim to provide high-speed network coverage to gray areas. The amendment addresses delays by Open Fiber, which risk jeopardizing European funds collection. Additionally, the government has reviewed the concession for white areas assigned to Open Fiber and plans to allocate an extra 600 million euros to cover rising energy and raw material costs. —————————— At its first sustainability forum, Singtel unveiled an updated environmental strategy, emphasizing a faster transition to renewable energy and electrification of its Singapore vehicle fleet. CEO Yuen Kuan Moon stressed urgency in addressing the climate crisis and committed to more aggressive Science Based Targets Initiative goals. Singtel aims for 50% renewable energy usage in Singapore and Australia by 2030 and plans to convert its fleet of over 150 vehicles in Singapore to electric by 2028. Additionally, it introduced e-SIM for select customers and collaborated with partners to reduce packaging materials. —————————— Saudi Mobily has been recognized as the fastest-growing telecommunications firm in the Middle East for 2024 by Brand Finance, according to Arab News. The company’s value has surged by approximately 18% compared to the previous year, solidifying its position as a top player in the region’s telecom sector. These rankings reflect Saudi Arabia’s commitment to advancing digital transformation and enhancing ICT services in the Kingdom. —————- —————- MEF TECH NEWS 28 MARCH 2024 AI startup Cohere is close to finalizing a funding round that could value the company at $5 billion. Discussions are underway to raise over $500 million, involving investors from Cohere’s previous Series C round led by Inovia Capital. The timing of the deal’s closure remains undisclosed. Reuters first reported on the talks. —————————————- Amazon is investing an additional $2.75 billion in Anthropic, completing a deal made last year. This brings Amazon’s total investment in the AI startup to $4 billion. Anthropic will use Amazon Web Services data centers and custom-built computer chips, alongside chips from Alphabet’s Google, with whom it also has a partnership. —————————- Shares of Hon Hai soared to a record as a frenzy over artificial intelligence outweighs concerns about a sluggish recovery in the smartphone sector. The Taiwanese maker of Apple iPhones rose as much as 5.1% today. Shares took off this month as its strong quarterly earnings fueled optimism over demand for the company’s AI servers. The AI craze has brought big gains in companies like Nvidia Corp. as investors see massive growth potential for the sector. Hon Hai’s AI server revenue is likely to reach 18% of its total revenue in 2025 due to the rising share of Nvidia shipments, JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note Wednesday. ——————————- Workers at Sega of America, a division of Sega Sammy Holdings, have ratified a historic union contract, marking the first time employees at a major North American video-game company have done so. Covering around 150 employees, the contract includes minimum yearly pay increases and various benefits, Bloomberg reported citing a representative from the Communications Workers of America. ——————————- Xiaomi embarks on its $8 billion stock rally with the launch of its first electric vehicle in China, aiming to challenge Tesla and BYD in the EV market. The SU7 series, a result of a $10 billion investment, will enter a fiercely competitive segment, testing Xiaomi’s technological capabilities. Co-founder Lei Jun sees this as a pivotal moment, with the EV’s reception likely influencing Xiaomi’s stock momentum, which has increased by 22% since February. ————————— —————————