UNITED STATES
Biden latches onto S&P 500
US President Joe Biden touted the S&P 500 index’s record high as a sign of US economic strength, making a rare comment on the stock market after a tough week in his re-election bid that focused attention on his age and mental acuity. The S&P 500 topped 5,000 for the first time on Friday, spurred by big-tech stocks and speculation that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon. By contrast, Biden’s week included gaffes in which he mixed up the names of world leaders — and a special counsel’s report said the 81-year-old president showed “diminished faculties and faulty memory.”
ENERGY
Tax savings help ONGC
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), India’s largest oil and gas explorer, posted better-than-expected quarterly profit as lower windfall tax helped offset impact of the decline in oil and gas prices. Still, net income fell 14 percent to 95.4 billion rupees (US$1.1 billion) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with 110.4 billion rupees a year-ago, according to an exchange filing on Saturday. Revenue fell 9.8 percent to 347.9 billion rupees, according to the state-owned explorer, which accounts for 67 percent of India’s oil and 54 percent its gas production.
ITALY
Bonds pitched in TV show
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plan to shift the burden of Italy’s debt to her voters reached a new milestone when a pitch for government bond sales ran during the nation’s most iconic song contest. The advertisement, which appeared during a public TV broadcast from the annual Sanremo Music Festival on Friday night, promoted an issuance of the BTP Valore bond later this month as offering an “advantageous return exclusively dedicated to small savers.” Getting ordinary savers to buy debt, along with taking measures to avoid any worsening of public finances, are now key pillars of Rome’s strategy to stay sustainably afloat.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford working on cheap EVs
Ford Motor Co is working on inexpensive, small electric vehicles (EVs) to stem its electric vehicle losses and take on Tesla Inc and Chinese automakers. Chief executive officer Jim Farley revealed the plans to analysts on Tuesday after the automaker announced adjusted earnings per share of US$0.29 for the fourth quarter of last year, more than double the US$0.13 analysts expected on average. Fourth-quarter revenue of US$46 billion surpassed the US$40.3 billion analysts expected. The small team is being led by Alan Clarke, executive director of advanced EV development, who came to Ford two years ago after more than 12 years developing models for Tesla.
BANKING
Barclays to tamp fossil fuels
British bank Barclays PLC said on Friday it would stop directly financing its energy clients’ new oil and gas projects. As part of its updated climate strategy, the bank added it would scale back lending for existing fossil fuel projects as the sector faces intense pressure from activist investors to help tackle climate change. Additional curbs will be introduced on unconventional oil and gas, including extra heavy oil, Barclays said. The bank also expects “energy clients to produce transition plans or decarbonization strategies” by next year, it said, adding that it would require energy clients to commit to other targets, including the reduction of methane and carbon emissions from operations.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
SUBSIDIES: The nominee for commerce secretary indicated the Trump administration wants to put its stamp on the plan, but not unravel it entirely US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency in charge of a US$52 billion semiconductor subsidy program declined to give it unqualified support, raising questions about the disbursement of funds to companies like Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). “I can’t say that I can honor something I haven’t read,” Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, said of the binding CHIPS and Science Act awards in a confirmation hearing on Wednesday. “To the extent monies have been disbursed, I would commit to rigorously enforcing documents that have been signed by those companies to make sure we get
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