Business and technology quick bites: 29.04.2021

Updated version at 8.00 am

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

April 28, 2021,

Business News

1. Asian stocks look set to climb and U.S. equity futures rallied Thursday after robust earnings from technology heavyweights.
2. The Federal Reserve took a rosier view of the US economic recovery and the nation’s war against the coronavirus, but said it was too early to consider rolling back its emergency support with so many workers still left jobless by the pandemic.
3. Oil gains more than 1%, after US distillate inventories posted a large drawdown and refiners ramped up activity to the highest in over a year.
4. Facebook reported that its profit in the recently ended quarter nearly doubled to US$9.5 billion on sharp gains in digital advertising, meanwhile Apple also saw its profits more than doubled in the past quarter to US$23.6 billion amid a surge in iPhone sales and robust growth in other products and services purchased by pandemic-hit consumers.
5. Coca-Cola Co agreed to sponsor a protected reserve in the Amazon rainforest, joining beer maker Heineken and a growing list of global corporations.
6. Grab more than doubled its valuation to US$40 billion in about a year as part of the world’s largest SPAC deal, but maintaining that level after its US debut will be a test not only for investors but also for firms eyeing similar listings.

Technology News

1. Zomato, an Indian food delivery startup backed by Jack Ma’s Ant Group, has filed an initial prospectus with Indian market regulator for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise as much as 82.5 billion rupees (S$1.47 billion).
2. Government and industry officials confronting an epidemic of ransomware are zeroing in on cryptocurrency regulation as the key to combating the scourge. Ransomware gangs collected almost $350 million last year, up threefold from 2019.
3. UK plans to use a National Health Service phone app as its Covid-19 ‘vaccine passport‘ certificate that will allow its population to travel internationally this summer.
4. Uber added valet delivery of rental cars as part of a suite of offerings as it aims to be “one-stop-shop” for post-pandemic venturing out or dining in.