European venture capital closed € 3.3 billion ($3.59 billion) funding in the Q4 of 2015, a huge raise from the previous quarter. United Kingdom is still the top spot for venture capital funding and information technology companies are still the favorite sector.
Industry
US Housing sector experiences bumpy road
The US housing market was boosted at the end of the year 2015 that marked the best year for existing and fresh home sales since 2007. Nearly 501,000 fresh homes were sold the previous year, an increase of 14.5% from 2014.
Freeport-McMoRan to trim up to $10 billion debt
Freeport-McMoRan said that it has planned to trim up to $10 billion debt through earnings from joint venture transactions and asset sales. The mining group also reported a loss of $4.1 billion for the fourth quarter.
KIA Rio GT Will Debut in 2018 to Take On Ford Fiesta ST
Korean automaker KIA will launch its sporty hatchback KIA Rio GT in 2018. The car will compete against Ford Fiesta ST in sportscar segment.
Higher Capital Requisites In Basel III Rules Lead To Volatile Gilt Market In The UK
Introduction of risk based regulation centering Basel III accord has pushed up costs of fund. As an aftermath, the January 20 auction of the UK sovereign bonds has witnessed the lowest demand in nearly seven years. Ahead of rising concerns over the increasing challenges in the UK gilt market, many of the world’s biggest banks are shrinking their bond-trading activities. However, concerns of the investors and dealers have been communicated to the regulators concerned through a meeting held on Tuesday.
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Wynn Palace, an under construction casino, is widely expected to attract Chinese consumers and thus transform Macau to a popular tourist region. The casino project has been expected to be completed by June 25 followed by a revision on deadline. But work progress seems to be slow and the contractor for the $4.1 billion project is probably going the miss the extended time frame further. Steve Wynn, founder of Wynn Macau Ltd. has sent a letter to the construction company cautioning to count compensation up to $200 million if it fails to meet the revised deadline.
Google is always pioneer in offering innovative promotional measures. In a similar, it has reduced Nexus 5X and certain color containing 6P model prices by $50 dollar. Combining this discount offer with previously declared $30 price cut has made the devices cheaper and within the capability of mid income group. However, buyers from Europe seem to be more beneficial since the discount amount remains higher there.
Association of British Insurance (ABI) will lead the newly created Automated Driving Insurance Group. The group is established to discuss issues regarding driverless car.
Facebook is expected to announce its fourth-quarter earnings soon and analyst are expecting that the company will deliver a better than expected report. The company is also expected to boost its revenue this year through the expansion of its video advertising, Instagram, and Oculus RIft.
Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) under the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled mislabeled uncured pork pepperoni. Referring it as a Class II hazardous situation, FSIS advices Whole Foods customers to return the purchased products or just throw them away. But the recalling has taken place as consequences of changed ingredients from supplier’s behalf.
Four years of drought in California is recorded as one of the most severe. The drought has taken effect on U.S. wine industry, as the amount of grape harvested is reduced significantly.
Unicorn is a term defining a startup company with over $1 billion valuation. Now, there will be other group of tech startups defined as "rabbit" to differentiate them from unicorns-overhype that become unicorpse.
Mozilla has introduced a new version of its browser on Tuesday that allows push notifications even from unloaded sites. The new feature is super useful for websites like email, weather, social networks and shopping, which are usually frequently browsed for updates. This saves battery life and system resources. Through introducing the updated browser, Mozilla also keeps its earlier commitments, pledged along with other browser makers, for dropping RC4 support in 2016.
US oil explorers are expected to report a combined loss of about $14 billion for the year 2015, as a result of the sharpest oil price slump in a generation. Bankruptcies and disappointing debt exchanges have led the oil explorers to cut thousands of staffs, trim dividends, and abandon drilling projects to preserve capital and resist insolvency.
