WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
Microsoft trims jobs as it enters new fiscal year
Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had trimmed its workforce across geographies and teams as it entered a new fiscal year from July 1.
The Washington-based software giant declined to elaborate on the roles which had been eliminated, their numbers or their locations.
Business Insider had earlier reported that the company cut under 1,000 jobs across its business this week.
The company cut roles at its online news portal MSN.com, as it shifted to an AI-powered algorithmic feed, according to the report, which added that jobs were also cut in the Microsoft Azure cloud division.
Late last month, Microsoft said it would close its retail stores and take a related pre-tax asset impairment charge of $450 million amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
The spokesman said it is common for the company to re-evaluate its business as it enters a new fiscal year.
Full coverage : REUTERS
Singapore exports surge 16.1% in June, beating forecasts
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s June non-oil domestic exports (NODX) jumped 16.1% from a year ago, beating forecasts, official data showed on Friday, helped by shipments of pharmaceuticals, specialised machinery and electronics.
That was reversal of a revised 4.6% decline in May, and higher than the 6.2% increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. The figure was also boosted by a low base comparison from the year earlier.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports rose 0.5% in June after a revised 4.6% fall in the previous month, Enterprise Singapore said in a statement.
Economists had forecast a 2.2% contraction.
Shipments of non-monetary gold also bolstered June’s rebound, up 238.0% from a year earlier. The city-state is a big regional player in the gold trade, and exports can be affected by sharp swings in value.
Full coverage : REUTERS
Focus falls on bitcoin trail in race to identify Twitter hackers
LONDON/NEW YORK – Hackers who targeted some of Twitter’s top users to reap bitcoin worth $120,000 have likely left digital footprints that could offer clues for law enforcement agencies investigating the attack, three blockchain analysis companies told Reuters.
In an unprecedented spree, the unidentified attackers on Wednesday hijacked the accounts of politicians, celebrities and billionaires, using them to solicit bitcoin transfers to a string of digital wallets.
A digital wallet used to consolidate the bitcoin has previously been linked with crypto firms including merchant service providers, U.S. blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis told Reuters – a clue that could aid investigators.
Full coverage : REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : FINANCE / ECONOMY
Dollar holds gains on safe haven bid as economic risks grow
TOKYO – The dollar held onto gains against most currencies as worries that a resurgence in the coronavirus is starting to curb economic activity drew safe-haven flows into the U.S. currency.
One notable exception was the euro, which was well supported by hopes that European officials will agree on fiscal stimulus measures at a meeting starting later on Friday.
Some investors say they are beginning to see troubling signs in recent data that a relentless surge in coronavirus infections is threatening the U.S. economy.
Others point to a widening diplomatic row between the United States and China as reason to avoid risky trades, which should keep the dollar supported for the time being.
Full coverage : REUTERS
Asian markets look for fresh upswing after U.S. market dip
Asian markets appear set to open with a firmer tone on Friday, shrugging off an overnight fall in U.S. stocks as the United States prepares to debate fresh economic stimulus to see the country through its coronavirus outbreak.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures were up 0.23% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.24%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures had risen 0.74%.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 were p 0.2%.
Attention is quickly turning to how the United States might adopt further stimulus to help steer the world’s largest economy through a worsening coronavirus pandemic.
Full coverage : REUTERS
Wall Street ends lower on COVID-19 worries, tech weighs
The S&P 500 dropped on Thursday, pulled lower by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O), as elevated levels of unemployment claims heightened concerns about the economic toll from rising coronavirus cases.
U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in June, but a resurgence in new COVID-19 cases is undercutting the budding recovery, keeping 32 million Americans on unemployment benefits.
A jump in cases of the virus has forced California and other states to shut down again, sparking fears of more business damage and slowing the pace of a Wall Street rally. The S&P 500 is about 5% below its February record high.
The S&P real estate .SPLRCR and technology .SPLRCT indexes each lost more than 1%, more than any others.
Apple declined 1.2% and Microsoft lost 2%, each weighing more than any other company on the S&P 500.
Full coverage : REUTERS
