Here is a brief of the major news we are following;
Alibaba Acquires Controlling Stake in A-RT Retail
Chinese E-Commerce company Alibaba Group on Monday announced it will acquire a 70.94% of equity stake in A-RT Retail Holdings Limited, which holds 51% of the equity interest in Sun Art.
The deal is worth $3.6 billion and will be purchased from Auchan Retail International S.A.
Sun Art Retail Group engages in the operation of hypermarket stores and E-commerce platforms in China and is headquartered in Hong Kong. It offers food and non-food merchandise.
IBM Q3 Earnings Report
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) revenue for the third quarter declined by 2.6% to $17.6 billion compared to a similar period last year. Net income rose 2% to reach $1.7 billion in the same quarter.
Cloud & Cognitive Software revenues grew 7% to $5.6 billion, Systems fell 15% to $1.3 billion. Global Business Services fell 5% to $4 billion while Global Technology Services’ revenue fell 4% to $6.5 billion.
Europe Begins New lockdowns
Wale
The Welsh government has announced a two-week lockdown citing the rising number of coronavirus infections. The country’s First Minister Mark Drakeford announced on Monday said the lockdown will start on Friday at 6 pm local time and people have been instructed to stay at home during the lockdown.
Gatherings have been banned, non-essential stores, as well as pubs and restaurants, will be closed. Primary schools will reopen after the half-term break on October 30, while secondary schools will reopen only partially.
Ireland
Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Monday said the country would go into a six-week lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All non-essential retail will close, as well as bars and restaurants that don’t offer takeaway service. However, Martin said that schools and churches will remain open for now.
Meanwhile, Italy and Austria have announced stricter measures to curb the rise in new coronavirus cases. The Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced on Monday the government would introduce new restrictions on social gatherings amid new COVID-19 spikes in the country.
Digital currencies can help central banks – IMF MD
Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday said that there are potential advantages of central banks using digital currencies.
She added that shortcomings such as high costs of cross-border payments can be fixed this way but that any new system should work alongside the old one. All risks need to be contained, Georgieva stressed at an online panel as she pointed out digital currencies could make it more difficult to control domestic financial conditions.
