Amazon has reported its second straight quarter of $100bn-plus sales, comfortably beating Wall Street’s targets as it continues to reap the rewards of pandemic conditions. Net sales of $108.5bn in the first three months of the year helped the company achieve a net income of $8.1bn, up by more than 220 per cent on the
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Joe Biden said America was “rising anew” in his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night as he declared the country was experiencing a revival following a devastating pandemic and economic crisis. “After 100 days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for take-off,” Biden said. “We are working again. Dreaming
Listings on stock markets around the world are running at a record pace, with both deal numbers and values at their highest levels for the start of any year in at least two decades. This year, 875 initial public offerings each raising at least $1m have been clinched globally, according to data from Dealogic that cover
The US will share 60m doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine with other countries, the White House announced on Monday, as the Biden administration comes under pressure to assist areas struggling to contain a new surge of cases. The White House said no decision had been made yet about which nations would receive the doses, although
Some of Credit Suisse’s largest shareholders will attempt to remove the board member in charge of risk oversight, in protest at twin scandals that have cost the bank and its clients billions and tarnished its reputation. Andreas Gottschling — a 53-year-old German who has served as chair of the risk committee since 2018, earning a
The board of Kansas City Southern will review a proposed $33.7bn offer from Canadian National, the latest twist in the takeover battle for the US rail operator which could yield the largest merger of the year. Kansas City Southern has already entered into a merger agreement with CN rival Canadian Pacific, which offered $28.9bn including
A panel of scientific advisers has recommended that the US resume use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine after deciding the benefits of inoculation outweighed the risks posed by rare blood-clotting issues. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 10-4 on Friday to recommend lifting a pause it called for 10 days ago, after six
Joe Biden is preparing to announce a string of tax increases on wealthy Americans, including a nearly doubling of levies on capital gains for people earning more than $1m, to pay for a massive increase in funding for childcare and education. The economic package from the White House, which is worth more than $1tn, could
Mario Draghi will next week unveil a €221bn recovery package for a radical restructuring of Italy’s economy as it seeks to bounce back from its deepest recession since the second world war. The plan, which features big-ticket investments in high-speed rail and green energy, as well fully digitalising the country’s public administration, will draw on
A Minneapolis jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with killing George Floyd, whose death last year set off global protests over race and policing. The verdict will be announced between 4:30pm and 5pm Eastern Time, court officials said on Tuesday. The trial in Minneapolis has
The two heads of Credit Suisse’s prime brokerage business are to leave just weeks after the bank reported at least $4.7bn of losses related to the family office Archegos Capital. John Dabbs and Ryan Nelson have stepped down from leading the unit, which offers specialised services to hedge funds, according to a staff memo seen
Consumers around the world have stockpiled an extra $5.4tn of savings since the coronavirus pandemic began and are becoming increasingly confident about the economic outlook, paving the way for a strong rebound in spending as businesses reopen. Households around the globe accumulated the excess — defined as the additional savings compared with the 2019 spending
A dispute over Donald Trump’s 2017 tax reforms stands in the way of Joe Biden’s $2tn infrastructure proposals, with a growing number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill threatening to vote against any tax and spending plan that does not reverse a key provision of Trump’s changes. Thirty-two House members from both the Democratic and Republican
US stocks and bonds rallied this week, leaving Wall Street’s main equities barometer at a record peak, as the latest signs of the country’s economic recovery sparked a shift into American assets. Economic reports pointing to a quickening improvement in the labour market and a stimulus-fuelled jolt in consumer spending bolstered both foreign and domestic
Russia assets sold off on Thursday after reports that US president Joe Biden was set to announce a fresh round of sanctions against Moscow, potentially targeting the country’s sovereign debt. Washington is set to unveil the new measures, the first against Russia from the Biden administration, to punish Moscow for alleged meddling in US elections
Stock market investors valued Coinbase at $75.9bn in its debut on Nasdaq on Wednesday, the first listing of a major cryptocurrency exchange and a moment of validation for the digital asset class some 12 years after the creation of bitcoin. Shares opened at $381 each on Wednesday, giving Coinbase a market capitalisation that immediately surpassed
US health agencies have called for a pause of the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as they investigate several incidents of blood clots. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were reviewing six reported US cases of “rare and
The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged Michigan’s governor to shut down the state instead of asking for more vaccines as a way to control a sudden jump in coronavirus cases. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said on Monday she thought Michigan should impose fresh restrictions to combat the
After a slow start marred by delays and supply shortages, Europe’s vaccination drive is stepping up a gear in nations including France, Germany and Italy even as they struggle to control a third wave of the pandemic. France announced an acceleration of its much-criticised Covid-19 vaccination campaign on Sunday, increasing the gap between the two
Chinese regulators have fined Alibaba a record Rmb18.2bn ($2.8bn) after finding that the ecommerce group had abused its market dominance. The fine, which was set at 4 per cent of Alibaba’s 2019 revenues, concludes an antitrust investigation into the company founded by Jack Ma. It comes as Chinese authorities have stepped up scrutiny on dealmaking