Russia blocks Snapchat, RIA reports
MOSCOW, Dec 4 : Russia has blocked access to Snapchat, state-run news agency RIA reported on Thursday, citing the country's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor.Authorities said one reason for the ban was that Snapchat had allegedly been used "to organise and carry out terrorist acts wit ...
Wall Street opens higher as investors mull Fed rate cuts
[NEW YORK] Wall Street’s main indexes opened slightly higher on Thursday (Dec 4) as investors parsed a fresh batch of labour market...
Meta’s Zuckerberg plans 30% budget cut to metaverse unit, potentially triggering January layoffs: sources
The proposed metaverse cuts are part of the company’s annual budget planning for 2026
Exclusive-Kazakhstan's oil output declines as exports curbed by damaged terminal, source says
MOSCOW, Dec 4 : Kazakhstan's oil and gas condensate production declined by 6 per cent in the first two days of December, an industry source said on Thursday, following a Ukrainian drone attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) Black Sea loading facility.The CPC pipeline, which car ...
BYD accelerates South Africa expansion with more dealerships planned in 2026
MULDERSDRIFT, South Africa, Dec 4 : Chinese automaker BYD will hit its initial target of having about 35 dealerships in South Africa by the first quarter of 2026 and aims to expand that network to 60 to 70 by the end of next year along with growing demand for its electric vehicles.South Africa' ...
Apple’s talent exodus complicates Cook’s eventual exit
The flurry of talent leaving the company should cause investors some alarm
Review platform Trustpilot's shares slump after Grizzly Research shorts stock
Dec 4 : Trustpilot's shares plunged more than 30 per cent on Thursday after Grizzly Research disclosed a short position and accused the global review platform of creating fake profiles that gave negative reviews and then pressuring companies to pay for subscriptions.The short seller accused the ...
Meta to cut up to 30% of metaverse budget, Bloomberg News reports
Dec 4 : Meta is expected to make up to 30 per cent budget cuts for its metaverse initiative, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussion.The Facebook parent's shares rose nearly 4 per cent in morning trading.CEO Mark Zuckerberg has heavily bet on the augmente ...
Meta CEO Zuckerberg plans deep cuts for Metaverse efforts, Bloomberg News reports
Dec 4 : Meta is expected to make up to 30 per cent budget cuts for its Metaverse initiative, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussion.The Facebook-parent, whose shares rose more than 6 per cent in premarket trading, did not immediately respond to a Reuters requ ...
Leasehold land: valuations are transparent
Goola Warden - When investors buy into S-REITs, they might do well to take a second look at the property portfolio they are investing in, just as they would with any physical property they purchase. S-REITs are structured to resemble physical properties. They are effectively rental income minus expenses, including ...
Sunpower Group to buy stakes in two China thermal energy projects
Elysia Tan - It will take 15% equity interest in Xinneng Thermal Power, and the remaining interest in Changshu Thermal Power that it does not...
Sunpower Group subsidiaries to acquire stakes in two China thermal energy projects
Elysia Tan - It will take 15% equity interest in Xinneng Thermal Power, and the remaining interest in Changshu Thermal Power that it does not...
Freehold versus leasehold
Goola Warden - The way to overcome the freehold-versus-leasehold conundrum is probably through asset size and quality. All the issues with S-REITs, whether it’s internally versus externally managed, issues with leases, forex and freehold versus leasehold, are to have an S-REIT that is large enough with a mix of ...
CLAR: Property proxy to the digital megatrend
Goola Warden - CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (CLAR) is one of the 10 REITs trading above net asset value and has outperformed industrial REITs over the past five years (see chart). As of Sept 30, it owns 231 properties across business space, life sciences, logistics and industrial, and data centres, valued at $17.7 bil ...
Snowflake tumbles on slower quarterly product revenue growth forecast
Dec 4 : Snowflake shares slumped 11 per cent on Thursday after the cloud data analytics company forecast slower product revenue growth for the fourth quarter, partly hit by discounts offered on the large, long-term deals.If losses hold, around $10 billion of the company's market value could be ...
Snowflake shares fall on slower product revenue growth forecast for fourth quarter
Dec 4 : Snowflake shares slumped 8 per cent in premarket trading on Thursday after the cloud data analytics company forecast slower product revenue growth for the fourth quarter, partly hit by discounts offered on the large, long-term deals.Chief Executive Officer Sridhar Ramaswamy said on Wednesday ...
Stocks higher, dollar to extend losing streak, as markets weigh rate cuts
NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 4 : Global shares edged up on Thursday, powered by expectations that a U.S. rate cut will support the world's largest economy after data showed employment is slowing, while the dollar was lower and poised for its 10th straight day of losses against a basket of major currenc ...
Stocks rise, dollar set for 10-day losing streak, as investors count on Fed rate cuts
LONDON, Dec 4 : Global shares edged up on Thursday, powered by expectations that a U.S. rate cut next week will support the world's largest economy after a raft of data showed employment is slowing, while the dollar fell for a tenth straight day against a basket of currencies, set for its longe ...
Former Signature Bank executives launch blockchain-based bank
Dec 4 : Former Signature Bank executives are launching a new blockchain-based bank focused on facilitating instant, around-the-clock U.S. dollar payments, nearly three years after the collapse of the New York-based bank known for serving cryptocurrency clients.The bank, called N3XT, was founded by S ...
Mobile virtual network operators face consolidation threat in 2026: analysts
Young Zhan Heng - With the Simba-M1 merger, MVNOs could lose bargaining power and thus may have to tie up or exit
MVNOs face consolidation threat in 2026, say analysts
Young Zhan Heng - With the Simba-M1 merger, mobile virtual network operators could lose bargaining power and thus may have to tie up or exit
Mobile resellers face cost hikes as telco consolidation cuts bargaining power
Young Zhan Heng - With the Simba-M1 merger, MVNOs could lose bargaining power and thus may have to tie up or exit
AI startup Flex raises $60 million to offer finance tools for mid-sized businesses
Dec 4 : Flex, an artificial intelligence startup that aims to be a one-stop shop for the financial needs of mid-sized business owners, said on Thursday it has raised $60 million in a Portage Ventures-led funding round.The Series B round valued the firm at around $500 million, according to a person f ...
Nomura, citing ‘elevated’ valuations, stays ‘neutral’ on Singapore
Lin Daoyi - With Singapore trading at multiples which are higher than historical valuations, Nomura’s APAC equity strategist Chetan Seth is staying “neutral” on Singapore equities for the next year. “Singapore will never be there [at these levels].” he says, “Most likely you will find a country like ...
Alphabet’s TPU AI chips are a potential US$900 billion ‘secret sauce’
The success of TPU chips is a primary reason for the company’s 31% fourth-quarter share rally
EU considering interim measures against Meta, EU antitrust chief says
BRUSSELS, Dec 4 : EU regulators are considering whether to impose interim measures against Meta over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in its messaging service WhatsApp, EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said on Thursday.Ribera, who had earlier opened an investigation into the U.S. tech ...
Vietnam's Masan Consumer to list on the main stock market before year-end
HANOI, Dec 3 : Masan Consumer, the food and beverage arm of Vietnam’s Masan Group, said on Thursday it will complete its listing on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) this month to improve access to funding.The $8.8 billion company is currently traded on Vietnam's Unlisted Public Company M ...
Eau de AI: Amazon gives techies a whiff of software-driven perfume
LAS VEGAS, Dec 4 : Amazon.com on Wednesday touted new capabilities for its SageMaker AI service that it says will help customers expedite customizing their artificial intelligence software models.For Peter Nikoloff, a different type of sage-making took precedence. He was sure to be first in line Wed ...
Trump’s U-turn on fuel economy rules lifts European carmakers' shares
The Trump administration cast the change as helping automakers sell petrol-powered cars more easily
British athletes offered AI shield against online abuse
LONDON, Dec 4 : Top British athletes will soon have a new weapon in the fight against online abuse after UK Sport signed a 300,000 pound ($400,170.00) deal to provide AI-based protection across social media.The government-funded body, which supports Olympic and Paralympic sports, has partnered with ...
Elegant Group entity buys The Clementi Mall for S$809 million
Kalpana Rashiwala - The price works out to about S$4,100 psf on net lettable area; the net yield is 4.1%
CapitaLand Ascott Trust, Sheng Siong Group to replace Olam Group, Yangzijiang Financial on STI reserve list
Elysia Tan - There will be no changes to the constituents of the STI following the December 2025 review
EU launches antitrust probe into Meta over use of AI in WhatsApp
[BRUSSELS] Brussels has opened a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in WhatsApp, the European...
Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (Dec 4)
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