Newsletter Mar 16, 2023

UK budget winners and losers: the pound, gilts and stocks

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt presented less gloomy forecasts for Britain's economy at his Spring Budget on Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of workers strike in latest UK industrial action

From nurses to lawyers, staff hit by a cost-of-living crisis have been striking across the economy.

UK unveils cost-of-living budget as mass strikes hit nation

Britain on Wednesday unveils a new cost-of-living budget, including more help on soaring energy bills, but the government is set to stand firm on rising public sector pay demands as the country endures a fresh wave of strikes.

UK debt agency treads careful path to sell near-record volume of bonds

Britain is trying to limit the burden on bond dealers as it prepares to sell the highest volume of government debt since the COVID-19 pandemic against a backdrop of turbulent markets, the head of the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Wednesday.

Speculators build $16 billion bearish bet on Europe's banks

Short sellers had amassed bearish positions worth more than $15.7 billion against European banks by Tuesday, after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sparked contagion fears and sent shares plunging, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

ECB rate hike plans clouded by financial turmoil

European Central Bank policymakers are meeting on Thursday amidst turmoil in financial markets that could force it to divert from plans for another hefty interest rate hike even though inflation remains too high.

European stock markets, euro slump on banking fallout

Europe's stock markets and the euro slumped Wednesday on renewed fears of contagion following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Credit Suisse sheds nearly 25%, key backer says no more money

Credit Suisse lost almost a quarter of its value on Wednesday, dropping to a new record low after its largest investor said it could not provide the Swiss bank with more financial assistance.

HSBC's acquisition of SVB UK a 'big sigh of relief' for tech startups

The U.K. Treasury, which facilitated the transaction alongside the Bank of England, said in a statement that the deal would protect the deposits of SVB U.K. clients.

Large U.S. banks view Credit Suisse exposure as manageable -sources

Large U.S. banks have managed their exposure to Credit Suisse in recent months and view risks from the lender as contained so far, according to three industry sources on Wednesday who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Visa, MasterCard $5.6 billion settlement with retailers is upheld

A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a $5.6 billion antitrust class-action settlement with more than 12 million retailers that accused Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc of improperly fixing credit and debit card fees.

Swiss Google workers stage walkout as job cuts hit Europe

Hundreds of Google employees staged a walkout on Wednesday at the company's office in Zurich, Switzerland, after more than 200 workers were laid off.

Zara owner Inditex invests in tech to speed up future sales

Zara owner Inditex said its spring-summer 2023 collection flew off the shelves over the last six weeks but shares in the world's biggest fashion retailer fell after it flagged higher spending on technology and automation.

Microsoft signs Japanese licensing agreement amid Activision deal

Microsoft signed a 10-year licensing deal to bring Activision's Call of Duty franchise to Japanese cloud gaming provider Ubitus on Wednesday, the latest move by the company to address regulatory worries about its bid for the games maker.

U.S. Copyright Office says some AI-assisted works may be copyrighted

The U.S. Copyright Office issued new guidance on Wednesday to clarify when artistic works created with the help of artificial intelligence are copyright eligible.

Britain and Japan to pay for most of fighter project agreed with Italy-sources

Britain and Japan are set to dominate a three-nation project with Italy to build an advanced jet fighter, with Rome set to pay around only a fifth of the overall development cost.