WP29 on Wednesday was calling for changes in the commercial data transfer agreement between US and EU. The agency said it does not provide enough protection for privacy for European users.
Industry
Financial Sector Led Rally in Wall Street as Global Stocks Peaked to Highest Level
Wall Streel indexes continued to stay in positive territory as financial sector was catching up. Global stock market responded and climbing to the highest level in 2016.
U.S. Securities and Commodities Agencies Demanded a Boost in Budget, Cited Growing Fintech Markets
The U.S. securities and commodities regulatory agencies pushed the congress to increase their budget. They argued that more fund is needed to do their functions in the growing financial markets and technology in recent years.
Medical Marijuana Passes Pennsylvania Bill, Ohio Might Be Next
Medical marijuana will be legalized after Gov. Wolf signs the bill on Sunday after the 149-46 vote in favor of marijuana legalization. However, it will take about two years before sufferers of acute ailment can get advantage of the benefits because of the several processes including regulatory and growing process.
Alibaba Gets $1 Billion Stake Investment In Lazada
Alibaba is about to acquire Singaporean start-up Lazada for about $1 billion that was established by the German technology Rocket Internet. Existing shareholders including Tesco, AB Kinnevik and Rocket Internet will sell a portion of their shares to Alibaba.
Latest News
US safety regulator announced Wednesday that Takata still need to recall its defective airbags. NHTSA said unless Takata proved them to be safe, all remaining airbags in US vehicles must be recalled eventually.
SEC has filed a lawsuit against former ConvergEx exec Basilly on Tuesday on the allegation of defrauding traders. Prior to that, ConvergEx has admitted wrongdoing through its several units and counted penalty of $150 million to the regulators. However, his lawyer claims innocence rejecting all allegations and cites that Bassily has acted as per ConvergEx approved business model.
The largest coal miner in the US has sought protection under bankruptcy law on Wednesday ending speculations over its future. The filing has been acknowledged as the largest bankruptcy case by liabilities during this year. With this filing, a century old publicly traded company is going to shutting down its operations in the US.
Demand for steel across the globe is expected to decline 0.8% to 1,488 million tonnes in 2016, according to the World Steel Association. The association expects steel demand in China, the largest consumer, to fall 4% in 2016 tailed by a 3% decline in 2017, reaching 626.1 million tonnes in 2017.
Cellcom Israel Ltd on Tuesday announced that regulators opposed its merger plan with Golan. However, Antitrust Authority will invite the companies representative to discuss the deal before making final decision.
The U.S. Congress has delayed work on Puerto Rico debt bill. Originally, the bill was scheduled to be the subject of hearing on Wednesday before receiving final amendments on Thursday. After that, it will be sent for debate on the House.
The IMF calls banks, policy makers, and other key players in both advanced and emerging markets to address economic problems immediately. IMF warned that current issues and uncertainty could lead to a new financial crisis or economic stagnancy in a global sense.
Ele.me secured a $1.25 billion investment from Alibaba and its finance business unit Ant Financial. China’s O2O business market are now booming as most Chinese consumers are using smartphones to do their daily activities.
The New York Fed announced its new GDP tracking and forecasting tool, the FRBNY Nowcast. The tool will use near real-time data to update U.S. economic growth daily, as the Fed will release a report weekly using the tool and data.
