Business and technology quick bites: 15.06.2021

Updated version at 8.15 am

The highlighted words in red are links to the news article.

June 15, 2021,

Business News

1. Asia stocks eyes steady start after their US peers closed at a record and a bond rally stalled ahead of key economic releases and a Federal Reserve announcement later in the week. Resurgent technology shares led US stock indices to fresh records Monday, outperforming industrial names.
2. European shares ended at a record high as energy stocks surged on strength in the oil market, while expectations of accommodative monetary policy grew even as a global economic recovery picked up speed.
3. Australia’s Crown Resorts receives a modified proposal from Oaktree Capital Group, with a provision for funding of A$3.1 billion ($2.39 billion) for the casino operator to buyback its founder’s stake.
4. MicroStrategy files to sell as much as US$1 billion in common shares for general purposes, including the purchase of more Bitcoin.
5. JPMorgan is stockpiling cash, holding around $500 billion, waiting for opportunities to invest at higher rates.
6. One of Sweden’s biggest pension funds, AP1, which has about US$42 billion in assets under management, has arranged its inflation strategy around the Federal Reserve’s view that price spikes will prove transitory, and says that, with a bit of hedging here and there, the approach has worked well.
7. UK and Australia have agreed the broad terms of the trade deal, the first since the UK left the EU.
8. Malaysia’s speedy vaccination rollout will help restore the economic recovery and investments regain momentum, UOB Malaysia maintains its full-year investment approvals at RM185 billion in 2021 compared to RM167.4 billion in 2020, despite near-term challenges under the current nationwide lockdown.

Technology News

1. Google revamps its Workspace productivity suite, including new features for free users, a paid plan for entrepreneurs and fresh capabilities for its Meet videoconferencing system in an effort to better compete with Microsoft’s products.
2. Beijing-based, LinkDoc Technology, a medical data company backed by a subsidiary of Alibaba Health, filed for an initial public offering in the United States.
3. Temasek-backed software startup Sprinklr, looks to raise as much as US$380 million through a US initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of about US$5 billion.
4. Vodafone UK choose Samsung as a supplier for its 5G infrastructure, as it seeks to extend its coverage, a breakthrough for the South Korean company in Europe’s telecoms gear market.
5. Airasia expands into the grocery-delivery space in Singapore offering zero merchant commissions for the first month and a low 5 per cent commission thereafter.