Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Peruvian President is accused of committing “genocide” against anti-government protesters. The President of Peru was questioned for over an hour on Tuesday by the Peruvian prosecutor regarding the deaths of citizens protesting against the government. The questioning, conducted by prosecutor Patricia Benavides, is looking into claims that security forces used lethal force against the demonstrators. Peru has been shaken by two months of protests by supporters of former president Pedro Castillo, who was impeached and arrested after attempting to dissolve parliament and rule by decree. Source: Almayadeen

Bitcoin fell to a three-week low Wednesday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s hawkish testimony to Congress spurred traders to price in a higher “terminal rate.” The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell to $21,871 during Asian trading hours, a three-week low, CoinDesk data show. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, nearly tested Tuesday’s low of $1,535. Powell on Tuesday said the central bank is likely to raise rates more than previously expected, warning that the process of pushing inflation down to the 2% target has a “long way to go.” Since last year, the Fed has raised rates by 450 basis points (bps), roiling…

The U.S. Federal Reserve cannot disrupt its cycle of interest rate increases until the nation enters a recession, according to TS Lombard Chief U.S. Economist Steven Blitz. “There is no exit from this until he [Fed Chair Jerome Powell] does create a recession, ’til unemployment goes up, and that is when the Fed rates will stop being hiked,” Blitz told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday. He stressed that the Fed lacks clarity on the ceiling of interest rate increases in the absence of such an economic slowdown. “They have no idea where the top rate is, because they have no idea…

BEIJING — China is pulling out all the stops to keep multinationals like Apple and its supplier Foxconn in the country. Such efforts to attract foreign investment come as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions push companies to diversify their supply chains away from China. For the first time in 25 years, the American Chamber of Commerce in China found that less than half the respondents to its annual survey ranked China as a top three investment priority. The number of companies which are considering or starting to relocate their manufacturing and sourcing outside of China rose by 10 percentage points from a year ago,…

Adidas on Wednesday reported a big fourth-quarter loss and slashed its dividend after the costly termination of its partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy brand in October. The German sportswear giant posted a fourth-quarter operating loss of 724 million euros ( $763 million ) and a net loss from continuing operations of 482 million euros. The company will recommend a dividend of 70 euro cents per share at its May 11 annual general meeting, down from 3.30 euros per share in 2021. Currency-neutral revenues declined by 1% in the fourth quarter as a result of the termination of the company’s Yeezy partnership…

Singapore-based Sea Limited closed more than 20% higher on Tuesday after the tech giant posted its first-ever positive net income since it was founded in 2009. Total net income for the fourth quarter of 2022 came up to $422.8 million, up from negative $616.3 million in the same period a year ago. That’s partly due to a $746 million reduction in sales and marketing expenses, as management pledged to reduce costs during the previous quarter’s earnings report. Cost incurred to obtain revenue also decreased by $157 million in the quarter. Shares of Sea closed 21.78% higher on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. “Recent cost-cutting…

The fallout from the Adani Group turmoil could have political implications for India, said a chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis. While corporate governance issues affect countries globally, what is different about the Adani case for India is that its “highly political,” Alicia Garcia Herrero told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday. This is especially true now, she noted, since the country’s Supreme Court has launched an investigations into the Adani Group’s allegations. Indian billionaire founder Gautam Adani has been under scrutiny after allegations in January from U.S. short-seller firm Hindenburg Research that accused the Adani Group of companies of fraud. The Adani…

As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hints at bigger and possibly faster rate hikes ahead, Australia’s central bank could be headed toward a different path. Reserve Bank of Australia’s governor Philip Lowe said in a speech Wednesday that the central bank is nearing a point where it’s ready to hit the brakes on rate hikes. “With monetary policy now in restrictive territory, we are closer to the point where it will be appropriate to pause interest rate increases to allow more time to assess the state of the economy,” he said. While emphasizing the central bank’s target to bring down the rise of living…

China is making rapid progress in scaling up clean energy, tentatively boosting hopes that the world’s largest carbon emitter could soon start to curb greenhouse gas pollution. A massive wave of permits for new coal-fired capacity poses a significant challenge to the country’s climate goals, with Beijing seen as “the glaring exception to the ongoing global decline in coal plant development,” according to the Global Energy Monitor. This article was originally published by CNBC.

The finance industry is not quick enough at getting women into management positions, according to Santander’s Executive Chair Ana Botin. “They’re getting better, but not fast enough,” Botin said in an interview with CNBC’s Charlotte Reed last week. Botin said there are steps that financial institutions can take to ensure that women can secure top roles in the sector. “For example, ensuring that we can have career plans for women, not just in support functions, but on the business side, making sure we rotate the roles faster, which tend to be occupied by men,” Botin said. The process of rotating…