The News Stories Trending in the Headlines Today

• Google and Microsoft third quarter results hit by slowing economy 
• Musk signals $44bn Twitter deal on track to close this week 
• Emefiele: eNaira Recorded N8bn Transactions in One Year 

Not forgetting:

• US mortgage application
• US New home sales   

Now for the briefing on the stories from around the world.

News Stories Trending In Worldwide Markets

1. Chinese stock markets saw a dramatic increase in equity prices, recouping some of the significant losses suffered last week as a result of a stock sell-off that followed China’s party conference. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased by 2.6%, while the CSI 300 in China increased by 2%. Japan’s Topix and South Korea’s Kospi both increased by 1% in other parts of Asia. The actions came after Chinese businesses listed on the mainland, in Hong Kong, and in the US all saw large drops. Beijing’s tardy publication of third-quarter GDP statistics, which showed China’s economy expanded less than the government’s yearly target, exacerbated the sell-off. However, when Google owner Alphabet reported weaker-than-anticipated ad revenues after the bell and Microsoft missed projected revenue predictions, potential early indicators of a downturn in the U.S. economy, futures for the S&P 500 plummeted 1% in early trading.

2. Very dismal numbers from Alphabet’s third quarter, which fell short of expectations in terms of both sales and profitability, have heightened concerns about a US economic slowdown. Microsoft also reported a decline in demand for its technologies, including PCs. Microsoft saw its worst revenue rise in five years, with revenues increasing by 11% to $50.1 billion. The company that controls Google and YouTube, Alphabet, said that revenues increased just 6% to $69 billion in the three months ending in September. This was the least favorable quarterly growth in over a decade outside of the beginning of the epidemic.

3. Alphabet is in further difficulty as India’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday that it has penalized the American company $113 million for anticompetitive behavior. The selling of in-app digital products is a crucial way for developers to monetise their work, according to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which said Google exploited its “dominant position” to coerce app developers to utilize its in-app payment system. The CCI’s action is the most recent setback for Google in one of its target markets. This is where it was fined an additional $162 million on Thursday for engaging in anticompetitive behavior with regard to its Android operating system. It was also urged to modify its strategy.

4.In the third quarter, Spotify’s net loss increased to €166 million as profit margins fell short of expectations in a challenging market that harmed digital advertising. In the three months leading up to the end of September, Spotify’s user base grew fast and drew ever closer to 500 million. The music streaming service surpassed the company’s projections by 456 million users and 195 million paid members.

5.However, there is more positive financial news from the banks. Standard Chartered, an Asian-focused lender, announced third-quarter earnings that were higher than anticipated due to a rise in interest rates. As interest rates rose in the lender’s key regions, net interest income increased to more than $2 billion, according to the bank, exceeding analyst projections of $1.1 billion and increasing by 40% from a year earlier. StanChart’s success comes just after rival lender HSBC reported record third-quarter earnings.

6. Chipotle’s CEO is “optimistic” that food prices would start to drop, but despite rising expenses, the burrito company showed that it can navigate a high inflation environment by increasing its operating margin in the most recent quarter. The fast-casual restaurant giant Chipotle reported $2.2 billion in third-quarter sales and $9.51 in adjusted profits per share, which took a number of one-time expenses into account. The restaurant sector missed the $2.23 billion average sales forecast, but it exceeded $9.21 per share profit forecasts. After the closing, the company’s shares increased by as much as 4%. The operating margin at the restaurant level for Chipotle increased to 25.3% from 23.5% in the third quarter of 2021. In order to offset growing operational expenses, Chipotle has hiked the pricing of its menu three times in the last 17 months.

7. According to Apple’s marketing head Greg Joswiak, the company is taking steps to comply with a regulation requiring the iPhone to use a USB-C charger. When the iPhone may receive the charger to replace Lightning, he chose not to say. He recalled how European authorities once wanted Apple to adopt Micro-USB and claimed that if that switch had taken place, neither Lightning, the current iPhone charging port, nor the now-ubiquitous USB-C would have been created. He claimed that Apple and the EU had been at odds over chargers for a decade.

8. According to persons knowledgeable about the situation, Elon Musk has said that he plans to conclude his $44 billion purchase of Twitter on Friday. This will put an end to the contentious acquisition process. The fact that Musk’s lawyers sent paperwork to equity investors in the deal even as a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, which also includes Bank of America and Barclays, had committed $13 billion in financing for the deal back in April is another indication that the deal will close by the end of the week. Additionally, Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, asset management companies Fidelity, Brookfield, and Sequoia Capital, as well as other equity investors, have contributed at least $7 billion to Musk’s bid.

9.With a focus on drawing tourists to Bali, the country’s top tourist destination and a significant source of foreign currency earnings, Indonesia has entered the race to entice wealthy global citizens for long-term stays. The country hopes to strengthen Southeast Asia’s largest economy by doing this. According to revised legislation published on Tuesday, the nation is providing “second house” visas for five and ten years to people with at least $130,000 in their bank accounts. The updated regulation becomes operative 60 days after it is published, or on Christmas.

10.Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced on Tuesday that Canada will contribute C$970 million ($708 million) in financing to the development of a grid-scale small modular reactor (SMR), a new nuclear technology hailed as a crucial component of the nation’s plans to reduce emissions. According to the minister’s spokeswoman, the project, which is being constructed by utility Ontario Power Generation (OPG) near Darlington, Ontario, will be the first commercial grid-scale SMR in the Group of Seven Wealthy Nations (G7).

11. Fuel prices and housing construction drove up Australian inflation to a 32-year high last quarter, a startling development that increased pressure on the central bank to resume more aggressive rate increases. Consumer price index (CPI) data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday revealed a 1.8% increase in the September quarter, above 1.6% market expectations. The yearly rate increased sharply from 6.1% to 7.3%, which is the highest level since 1990 and over three times the rate of wage growth.

12.And in the UK, Jeremy Hunt was reappointed as chancellor of the exchequer on Tuesday. The newly elected prime minister, Rishi Sunak, assigned him the challenging task of laying out a strategy to restore order to Britain’s public finances. A promised medium-term fiscal plan, which would include a five-year blueprint to reduce the UK’s debt, will be finished in the coming days by Sunak and Hunt.

News Stories Trending In Africa

13.Thulas Nxesi, the acting minister for public service and administration in South Africa, yesterday gave the Treasury the “go-ahead” to include the disputed final 3% salary offer for government employees in the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS). When he gives the policy statement in parliament later today, finance minister Enoch Godongwana will be able to speak with assurance about the trajectory of the R665 billion public sector wage bill thanks to Nxesi’s judgment.

14. According to Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the start-up of the 650,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Dangote Refinery will revolutionize the downstream oil industry in Ghana by lowering the cost of petroleum importation into the West African nation. Abdul-Hamid said the completion of the Dangote Refinery project would be a breakthrough for the West African region, which has long relied on the importation of petroleum products, during his speech at the current 16th Oil Trading and Logistics Expo in Lagos, with the theme: “Regulating Downstream Energy Transition in Dynamic Times.” He claimed that Ghana was currently struggling with the problem of ongoing increases in the price of petroleum products and added that getting importers to focus on Nigeria rather than the Netherlands for the importation of petroleum products would help his country reverse the trend of ongoing fuel price increases.

15. In Kenya, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) has produced rules that, if the proposed bill is approved by Parliament, would deviate from health insurance standards and allow men to get medical coverage for their wives. The rules include a provision that covers healthcare expenses for polygamous households as long as the male member pays an additional Sh500 for each additional wife. This differs from the present NHIF regulations, which only apply to one spouse and a maximum of five children. For medical coverage, the majority of private insurance companies, particularly those supported by employers, recognize the principle member, one registered spouse, and up to four children.

News Stories Trending In Nigeria

15.The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, disclosed yesterday that the eNaira, the nation’s digital currency, saw a total of N8 billion in transactions in the first year after President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration of the system. The CBN governor said that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) was a component of the central bank’s strategy to completely eschew cash in Nigerian commerce. Emefiele also said that the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee will soon announce measures to ensure that the cashless policy is completely implemented across the nation.

16.Last night, gasoline shortages returned to Lagos, causing huge lines of cars waiting to buy goods.