FTSE Russell says will delete Chinese telecoms firms from global indexes

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Index provider FTSE Russell will delete three Chinese telecom firms from global indexes from Jan. 11 following a U.S. executive order, the company said Thursday.

In a statement dated Jan. 7, FTSE Russell said it would delete China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom Hong Kong from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), the FTSE Global China A Inclusion Indexes and associated indexes.

MSCI says will delete three China telecom companies from its global indexes

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Global index publisher said it will delete China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom Hong Kong from its global indexes.

The three stocks will be deleted from MSCI ACWI Indexes, MSCI China All Shares Indexes and other related indexes as of the close of business on Jan 8.

Bitcoin falls 5% to $37,507 on Bitstamp exchange

TOKYO (Reuters) – Bitcoin fell more than 5% on Friday, a day after topping $40,000 for the first time.

The world’s most popular digital currency fell as low as $36,750 on Bitstamp exchange, after reaching an all-time high of $40,402.46 in the previous session.

Rival cryptocurrency Ethereum sank more than 10% to as low as $1,087.

Bitcoin falls 5% to $37,507 on Bitstamp exchange

TOKYO (Reuters) – Bitcoin fell more than 5% on Friday, a day after topping $40,000 for the first time.

The world’s most popular digital currency fell as low as $36,750 on Bitstamp exchange, after reaching an all-time high of $40,402.46 in the previous session.

Rival cryptocurrency Ethereum sank more than 10% to as low as $1,087.

German Factory Orders Continue To Grow

Germany’s manufacturing orders grew for a seventh straight month in November, defying expectations for a decline, suggesting that manufacturing may have offset the slump in the service sector due to the second lockdown to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Factory orders rose 2.3 percent month-on-month in November, figures from the Federal Statistical Office/Destatis showed Thursday. while economists had forecast a 1.2 percent fall.

The growth for October was revised to 3.3 percent from 2.9 percent. Orders have grown every month since May.

Excluding major orders, real new orders in manufacturing rose 1.6 percent from the previous month.

Domestic orders increased 1.6 percent and foreign demand grew 2.9 percent.

Demand for intermediate goods grew 4.9 percent and orders for capital goods rose 1.1 percent. Consumer goods orders increased 0.5 percent.

On a year-on-year basis, factory orders grew 6.3 percent in November after a 2.3 percent increase in the previous month.

The latest increase in orders is “undoubtedly good news” for the German manufacturing sector and for production, Commerzbank said, which expects production to increase in the coming months given the positive trend in orders.

“All this is unlikely to prevent real GDP from shrinking in Q4 due to the new restrictions imposed to contain the corona pandemic,” Commerzbank analyst Marco Wagner said.

“However, the very positive development in manufacturing should keep this decline in check.”

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Resigns

Washington (AP) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigns after Capitol insurrection, says Trump ‘rhetoric’ was ‘inflection point.’

Disney CEO Bob Chapek Denounces “Inexcusable Assault” Of Violent Attack On U.S. Capitol

Disney CEO Bob Chapek condemned the violent act of rioters at the U.S. Capitol, noting that Wednesday’s unprecedented fatal events marked “a sad and tragic day for our country, one unlike any other in our history.”

“What we saw was an egregious and inexcusable assault on America’s most revered institution and our democracy,” the Disney boss said in a statement, posted on the Walt Disney Company’s official Twitter. “Thankfully, the democratic process that we hold dearly ultimately prevailed.”

On Wednesday hundreds of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to interrupt Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College votes. The disruptive and violent acts resulted in four deaths.

Like many who condemned the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Chapek called for unity and kindness amid the unrest.

“We should seize this opportunity, and move ahead with optimism and hope for a better, brighter future for all of America,” he wrote.

Chapek joins a number of industry figures who have called out the injustice of the Wednesday violence in the nation’s capital. See more reactions, from Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans and more, here.

See the Disney CEO’s full statement below.

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Hyundai Stock Surges After Report Of Early Stage Talks With Apple On Self-driving Vehicles

Shares of Hyundai Motor surged 20 percent in Seoul after the Korea Economic Daily reported that the South Korean automaker is in early stage discussions with Apple to jointly develop self-driving electric vehicles.

Hyundai was trading at 253,000 South Korean won, up 47,500 won or 23.06 percent in Seoul.

“Apple and Hyundai are in discussion, but as it is at early stage, nothing has been decided,” Hyundai reportedly said in a statement.

Apple is in negotiations with multiple global automakers. Hyundai is one of them and it is in early stages of talks, the report quoted Hyundai as saying.

According to several media reports, Apple is developing an electric vehicle with an advanced battery. Apple’s so-called Project Titan is said to be targeting the start of production for 2024, though pandemic-related delays may push production into 2025 or beyond.