奇番本周财经新闻综述(BusinessThisWeek)

In a presentation to scientists, Elon Musk said that a startup he backs which is developing technology to integrate artificial intelligence with the brain plans to begin tests on humans by the end of next year. Neuralink is working on a system that will connect the human brain to machines by implanting hundreds of electrode “threads”, thinner than strands of hair, into the brain, using a surgical robot. The procedure is intended for patients with severe neurological disorders, but could eventually be used to boost the brain’s power.

News emerged that Facebook is to be fined $5bn in America for violating users’ privacy in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Although this would be by far the biggest penalty levied on a technology company in the United States, one bipartisan group of senators described it as “egregiously inadequate”, and that $5bn was too small to “alter the incentives and behaviour of Facebook and its peers”. The Federal Trade Commission is awaiting approval for the settlement from the Justice Department.  

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Meanwhile, there was more push back from officials against Facebook’s plan to launch a global cryptocurrency, to be named Libra. Steven Mnuchin, America’s treasury secretary, said that given concerns about the potential for money-laundering, Libra was a national security issue and that Facebook has “a lot of work to do” convincing government.

The negative political rumblings on Libra were one factor behind a dramatic fall in digital-currency prices, a volatile market at the best of times. Bitcoin plunged by a third over the course of the week.

The EU’s competition regulator trained its sights on Amazon. The retailer is to be investigated over the process for sharing the “Buy Box” on its website with independent vendors, and whether it uses data provided by the vendors to its own advantage when selling its own products.

Netflix’s share price tumbled after it disclosed that it had lost subscribers in America for the first time in eight years and had signed up just 2.7m new users globally in the second quarter, far below its forecast of 5m. Netflix raised the subscription price for its American customers earlier this year, just as it is about to face strong competition from other media companies starting their own online streaming services.

Brexit nightmare

Sterling fell sharply against the dollar and other currencies. Markets are waking up to the likely victory of Boris Johnson in the race to become Britain’s new prime minister. Mr Johnson maintains a hardline position that he is prepared to leave the EU without a deal on October 31st; Britain’s fiscal watchdog thinks a no-deal Brexit would plunge the country into recession.

Four months into its search for a new CEO following the abrupt departure of Timothy Sloan, Wells Fargo reported a higher-than-expected quarterly net profit of $6.2bn. The bank is struggling to find a new boss as it continues to deal with the regulatory fallout from a fake-accounts scandal. Other American banks also released second-quarter earnings. Profit came in at $9.7bn for JPMorgan Chase, $7.3bn for Bank of America and $2.4bn for Goldman Sachs, all above forecasts.

China’s GDP grew by 6.2% in the second quarter, year on year, the slowest pace in three decades. As the trade war with America hits exports, China’s economy is now fuelled by domestic demand.

South Korea’s central bank sliced a quarter of a percentage point off its main interest rate, to 1.5%. It was the first cut in three years and comes amid a slump in the country’s exports.

The new governor of Turkey’s central bank suggested that there was now “room to manoeuvre” on cutting interest rates, given a fall in inflation to 15.7%. Murat Uysal was appointed to the job when his predecessor was ousted in a row over monetary policy with the government. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s president, said recently that he expects a “serious” reduction in the 24% benchmark rate.

Anheuser-Busch InBev scrapped a sale of shares in its Asian business, blaming market conditions. The brewer had hoped to raise $9.8bn on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which would have made it the world’s biggest IPO this year, ahead of Uber.

Strange brew

AG Barr, the maker of  irn-bru, a soft drink that holds a special place in the Scottish psyche, issued a profit warning, blaming a “disappointing” summer in Scotland for a drop in sales. The company, which counts Tizer and Big Willie ginger beer among its brands, has also had to reduce the amount of sugar in its drinks to comply with a sugar tax. IRN-BRU’s distinct fluorescent orange colour (and its unique taste, a product of 32 flavouring agents) evokes such passion that a butcher in Fife once produced IRN-BRU infused sausages.

Source: The Economist (July 20, 2019)