Apple Pay is targeting China as its largest market. The mobile payment system was released Thursday and was hoping to convince retailers to use the system since there are hundred million users of Apple. A lot of banks will support Apple Pay including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
Sectors
S&P downgrades Saudi Arabia to 'A Minus / A-2'
Standard & Poor's (S&P) has cut rating on Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as it's suffering from lower oil prices. The long -term foreign and local currency sovereign credit has been lowered to 'A minus/ A-2' from 'A plus / A-1.'
A Startup Promising Wedding Loan Shifted to a Crowdfunding Platfrom, Disappoints Couples
A startup offering up to $10,000 loan to help couples fund their wedding had shifted its business concept to a crowdfunding platform. The move infuriates many couples expecting the loan, whereas the startup said that the couple wouldn’t have to pay it back as long as they stay together. The change of business plan was due to overwhelming demand and regulation challenges, stated the company.
Meta AR Showed As a Serious Rival to HoloLens and Amazed Audience in TED 2016
On Wednesday, Meta demonstrated its new augmented reality headset at TED conference in Vancouver, Canada. The new Meta 2 headset mesmerized the audience and showed to be rival for Microsoft Holo Lens.
Singapore-based Wavecell Scored $1.6 Million in Series A Funding
Wavecell is a startup company that focused on providing cloud communcation service. The company has just received its Series A Funding led by Qualgro Asean Fund.
Latest News
The US-based Victory Brewery and Southern Tier Brewing companies are forming an alliance to increase sales volume. However, the two mid-sized breweries will work independently under the parent company Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV).
Japan’s auto workers unions had agreed on slimmer pay raise of 3,000 yen, only half the amount they demanded last year. That would hinder Prime Minister Abe’s determination to put an end to the country’s economy stagnation by boosting domestic growth and reviving exports.
Honest Co was accused for a fraudulent labeling in its home and personal care products. The plaintiffs claim that more than 40 of its products contained chemical and toxic ingredients.
Indian Rupee further fell in a narrow range and was nearing its record low. On the other hand, stocks on the Indian bourses staged a recovery. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.8 percent paring intraday loss of 1.2 percent. Overseas investors continued to offload in the Indian stock markets.
The largest mining company's shares dropped as nickel and metal price plunge, following order reduction from China. Last week, nickel reached its lowest price in 13 years.
Plus500 booked an increase in total revenue for 2015 to $275.6 million, despite facing a dificult year. Increase of compliance cost and failed merger with Playtech has disturb the company's operation.
Oil and gas prices have continued to slashing down in 2016. Due to lower commodity prices, Oil and gas companies are adopting cost reductive measures including job cuts. After job cut spree in Sandridge Energy, Devon Energy has announced 1,000 job cuts on Tuesday. The company has forecast for another 600 job cuts ahead.
The volume of maturities of US investment-grade companies during 2016 and 2020 will be $864 billion. This is record high for the US investment-grade companies. However, they can easily access financial markets for refinancing their debt, observes global rating agency Moody's Investors Service.
UAE Minister of State Sultan Al Jaber has assumed the charge as Director General at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). Al Jaber has to overcome turbulent conditions in the oil industry as the lower oil prices, oversupply and consumption are the major challenges ahead of him.
