Berkshire Hathaway Sold $80.7 million of BYD Shares
3.23 million Hong Kong-listed shares of electric vehicle manufacturer BYD were sold by Warren Buffett's investment firm Berkshire Hathaway for HK$630.33 million ($80.67 million), according to a stock exchange filing.
According to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the sale reduced Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE:BRKa) holdings in BYD's total issued H-shares to 15.99% on November 17th from 16.28%.
MACROECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS
New Zealand's central bank raised interest rates to a record high on Wednesday, warning that the economy could be in recession for an entire year in order to bring sky-high inflation under control. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) increased the official cash rate (OCR) by 75 basis points to 4.25%, and rates are now expected to peak at 5.5%, up from 4.1% previously.
The Bank of England will continue to raise interest rates to combat inflation, despite Britain entering a long, albeit shallow, recession, and consumers facing an extended cost of living crisis, according to a Reuters poll of economists. In an autumn financial statement last week, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt announced more pain, with tax increases now and spending cuts in the future, so any relief on borrowing costs would have been welcomed by indebted households.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar was stable on Wednesday morning with investors waiting for the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting, which could provide insight into the outlook for inflation and the pace of interest rate hikes. The Dollar Index fell by 0.15% to 106.957.
GOLD
The price of gold remained constant in Wednesday’s early hours while copper continued to advance strongly as risky assets rose on expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates more slowly in the near future, which also limited the greenback’s gains. Gold prices rose by 0.18% to $1,736 per ounce.
OIL
Oil prices held steady on Wednesday, as COVID-19 curbs tightened and worries about lower Chinese fuel demand abated. However, data showing a larger-than-anticipated U.S. crude draw last week also played a significant role. Brent crude futures inched lower by 0.02% to $88.34 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude inched higher by 0.02% to $80.97 a barrel.
INDICES
USA: S&P500 +1.36%, Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.18%, Nasdaq Composite +1.48%
Europe: FTSE 100 +1.03%, DAX +0.29%, CAC 40 +0.35%
Asia: Nikkei 225 +0.61%, Hang Seng +1.13%, CSI 300 +0.10%, Nifty 50 +0.17%
Newest
Morgan Stanley has fined employees who use messaging apps like WhatsApp and others for work-related communications, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The fines, which ranged from a few thousand dollars to over $1 million per employee, were established by taking into account various elements, including the quantity of messages sent, seniority, and whether or not they had previously been warned.
Top advertisers cut their spending on Twitter by 71% in December as a result of Elon Musk’s recent takeover, according to data from an advertising research firm.
The latest Standard Media Index (SMI) data comes as Twitter works to reverse the advertiser exodus. It has launched a slew of initiatives to win back advertisers, including offering some free ads, lifting a ban on political advertising, and giving businesses more control over the placement of their ads.