Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
Troubled travel company Thomas Cook is in £750m rescue talks with banks and its largest shareholder, Fosun. The measures, which have not been finalized, would see the Chinese investor buy the firm's tour business. Thomas Cook's chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, said the proposal was "not the outcome any of us wanted" but insisted it was "pragmatic". He told the BBC that customers did not need to worry because their holiday bookings were "secure".
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48960685
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
Volkswagen and Ford announced plans Friday to work closely to develop electric- and self-driving vehicles, the latest automakers to partner in the face of massive changes rocking the auto industry. Ford (F) CEO Jim Hackett and Volkswagen (VLKAF) CEO Herbert Diess appeared together on Wall Street Friday, building on a growing alliance between the two automakers first announced a year ago. With this latest investment, Volkswagen has agreed to join Ford in investing in Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle platform company now valued at $7 billion. The two automakers said they will own a majority of Argo AI. The company is working on developing self-driving technology for ride sharing and goods delivery services in dense urban areas.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/12/business/volkswagen-ford-electric-cars/index.html
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
Coffee farmers in Brazil’s countryside could be soon be using cryptocurrency for their day-to-day needs. A major arabica-bean cooperative, Minasul, is planning to this month launch a block chain-based digital coin that will be backed by coffee supplies. Farmer members will be able to use the “coffeecoin” to buy fertilizer, machinery and other non-farm products, including cars and food, Jose Marcos Magalhaes, Minasul’s president, said in an interview during the Global Coffee Forum in Campinas, Sao Paulo state. Exchanging the coins for goods will take place in a digital marketplace, backed by Minasul’s store of crop nutrients, machinery and other products, he said.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-10/crypto-coffee-coin-is-coming-to-brazil-s-countryside-farmers?srnd=future-of-finance
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
U.S. officials approved a record $5 billion privacy settlement with Facebook Inc. to resolve the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, people said, prompting an immediate outcry from lawmakers and privacy advocates who said it didn’t go far enough. Although details of the settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission weren’t announced, the fine is steep but far from devastating for Facebook. The company, which reported revenue of almost $56 billion in 2018, had set aside $3 billion in anticipation of the fine.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-12/ftc-approves-facebook-privacy-settlement-worth-about-5-billion?srnd=technology-vp
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
Barclays Plc is cutting about 20% of jobs in its wealth management business in Dubai, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The layoffs will include senior positions and support staff within the division that employs about 100 members of staff and more cuts could be made, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans aren’t yet public. The lender offered to relocate some employees to Geneva or London instead of eliminating their roles, one of the people said.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-11/barclays-to-cut-20-of-jobs-in-dubai-wealth-management-business
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
James Murdoch, heir to billionaire media magnate Rupert Murdoch, has added the biggest reported investment yet to his closely watched portfolio: a bet on the virtual-reality provider called the Void LLC. Murdoch has invested $20 million in the business, according to a person familiar with the transaction. He’s also taken a seat on the board, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t yet public. He joins a high-profile list of investors, including Fidelity Management, Qualcomm Ventures and Walt Disney Co. The Company, based in Lindon, Utah, operates interactive entertainment experiences in 11 cities around the world. Customers don goggles and a backpack to immerse themselves in stories such as “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire,” which costs about $35.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-13/james-murdoch-makes-largest-deal-yet-with-bet-on-virtual-reality?srnd=technology-vp
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
Five people have been arrested and questioned over alleged accounting fraud at the Patisserie Valerie chain, the Serious Fraud Office has said. The arrests took place last Tuesday, 18 June, in a joint operation with police, the SFO said. The move comes eight months after the firm's former finance director, Chris Marsh, was arrested and freed on bail. Patisserie Valerie went into administration in January and was bought for £5m by Causeway Capital. The collapse followed the discovery of a huge black hole in the firm's accounts, eventually valued at £94m. After it went into administration, the cafe chain was found to have overstated its cash position by £30m and failed to disclose overdrafts of nearly £10m.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48736447
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
The Noodle House, the legacy Asian soul food concept by JRG Dubai, the UAE-based restaurant management company, has announced plans to open four new restaurants in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Noodle House will debut new restaurants in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) in August, Nakheel Mall on The Palm Jumeirah in September, and the upcoming Dubai Hills Mall in February 2020. The trio of Dubai openings will extend the brand’s empire to eight restaurants in the city. In the fourth quarter of 2020, The Noodle House will also enter the UAE capital with a new restaurant at Reem Mall on Reem Island.
Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/retail/422335-noodle-house-reveals-expansion-plan-in-the-uae
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
Boosted by a weaker dollar and fresh enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies, bitcoin surged past $10,000 for the first time in a year. The cryptocurrency is known for its volatile price swings. Between late 2016 and 2018, investors watched as bitcoin soared from just a few hundred dollars to more than $20,000, before plunging back down. Then, late Friday, it reached the $10,000 mark for the first time in over a year, according to Coinbase. Bitcoin owes its latest ascension to a weaker dollar and Facebook's new digital currency, Libra.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/22/business/bitcoin-value/index.html
Dr. Ajith Kumar V.V
They’re the chunky, thick-soled throwbacks to the 1990s known as “dad shoes.” And they’re beloved by millennials, whose fascination with retro footwear has brought Fila back from the dead. They’ve also helped Yoon Yoon-soo amass an unlikely fortune. Gene, as he’s known in English, is estimated to be worth about $830 million through his stake in Fila Korea Ltd., which acquired the global Fila brand in 2007 in what South Korean media called a shrimp swallowing a whale. Yoon went on to oversee a revival in Fila’s fortunes, sending shares of his company surging.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-22/-dad-shoes-and-golf-balls-make-fila-savior-830-million-fortune?srnd=premium-middle-east