By Georgina McCartney HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices closed the first trading session of 2024 lower as expectations for interest rate cuts waned and on easing concerns that tensions in the Red Sea will disrupt supplies. Brent crude settled at $75.89, down by $1.15 or 1.5%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $70.38 a barrel,…
By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund accounted for about a quarter of the almost $124 billion spent by sovereign wealth funds worldwide last year, a report published on Jan. 1 showed. PIF’s whopping $31.5 billion spend in 2023 compared with $123.8 billion for all sovereign wealth funds, based on a preliminary…
By Ankur Banerjee and Medha Singh (Reuters) -Bitcoin galloped past $45,000 on Tuesday, for the first time since April 2022, as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency started the new year with a bang, buoyed by optimism around the possible approval of exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds. Bitcoin touched a 21-month peak of $45,922, having gained 156% last…
(Reuters) -China’s Alibaba Group said on Tuesday it had repurchased a total of 897.9 million of its shares for $9.5 billion during 2023. The shares were bought in both the U.S. and Hong Kong stock markets, the company said in a filing. The e-commerce giant said the remaining amount the company’s Board had authorized for…
(Reuters) – DoorDash is looking to diversify beyond its core business of delivering restaurant meals to home diners, as the U.S. group seeks ways to invest a growing cash pile, the Financial Times reported on Monday. “The two largest areas of investment are expansion and penetration outside of the U.S., as well as the same…
By Lidia Kelly (Reuters) – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy honoured his people’s resilience in times of bloodshed in a long and lyrical New Year speech, while Russian leader Vladimir Putin stressed his country’s unity in a short and stern message that made only passing reference to the war. The speeches – traditional Dec. 31 messages…
By Liz Lee BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulations with U.S. President Joe Biden on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. Xi, in his message, said both countries have “weathered the storms and moved forward in general”, which has enhanced the well-being…
