Category: Business

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer

Less than two months into his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, Elon Musk declared that whoever took over as the company’s CEO ” must like pain a lot.” Then he promised he’d step down as soon as he found a replacement “foolish enough” to want the job.

That person, Musk announced Friday, is Linda Yaccarino, a highly-regarded advertising executive from NBCUniversal. She’ll start in six weeks. How long she’ll last might depend on her pain tolerance.

When Musk tweeted on Thursday that he’s found a new CEO but didn’t say who, one word stuck out: “she.” Some of his more extreme Twitter followers took immediate issue with the new CEO’s gender, but the fact that Musk hired a woman is actually notable simply because it is so rare — in business overall and especially in the tech industry — to see female chief executives.

Her appointment renewed questions about the “glass cliff,” a theory that women — as well as underrepresented minorities — are more likely to be hired for leadership jobs when there’s a crisis, which sets them up for failure. The term was coined in 2005 by University of Exeter professors Michelle Ryan and Alex Haslam, and there have been plenty of famous examples since then, from Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer to the U.K.’s Theresa May. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European economy scraped out meager growth in the first three months of the year, barely gaining momentum as stubborn inflation raises the price of groceries and erodes people’s willingness to spend paychecks that are failing to keep pace.

Friday’s less-than-stellar increase of 0.1% from the previous quarter follows disappointing growth estimates from the U.S., which kept alive fears of a looming recession in the world’s largest economy.

The 20 countries that use the euro currency picked up a little speed from January through March after zero growth in the last three months of 2022. The eurozone avoided a winter recession thanks to mild weather that alleviated pressure on natural gas supplies.

European governments and utilities also scrambled to line up additional sources to heat homes, generate electricity and power factories after Russia cut off most of its supply to the continent over its war against Ukraine. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase in a bid to end the turmoil that has raised questions about the health of the U.S. banking system.

It’s the third midsize bank to fail in less than two months. The only larger bank failure in U.S. history was Washington Mutual, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan in a similar government-orchestrated deal.

“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer

Delta Air Lines reported a $363 million loss for the first quarter on Thursday, with higher spending on labor and fuel overshadowing a sharp rise in revenue.

But the airline predicted it will make a bigger-than-expected profit in the current second quarter, which includes the start of the key summer travel season.

Airlines are getting a tailwind from the combination of strong demand and limited flights, which has pushed fares higher. But investors were spooked this week when industry analysts warned that growth in airline bookings has slowed down compared with this time last year.

Delta’s CEO said it is unfair to compare current ticket sales with those from a year ago, when travel was just starting to boom as pandemic-related restrictions were lifted. Continue reading

Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press

BENGALURU, India (AP) — The incoming president of the World Bank was born in India and forged his early business success there, a fact supporters say gives Ajay Banga valuable insight into the challenges faced by the developing countries the bank is supposed to help.

But not everyone is sure that Banga, who has spent most of the last two decades in the U.S. corporate world, can be counted on to shake up the bank in the way some think it should be.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen talked up Banga’s credentials this week on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington. Banga, currently vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic, has more than 30 years of business experience, including as CEO of Mastercard and on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.

“He has the right leadership and management skills, background, and financial expertise to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in its history,” Yellen said. Continue reading

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Business sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers worsened in the first quarter of this year in the fifth straight decline, according to a central bank survey released Monday.

The headline measure in the Bank of Japan quarterly survey called “tankan” found such sentiments stood at plus 1, down from plus 7 in December. It’s the worst quarterly result since December 2020.

Sentiments among major non-manufacturers rose one point to plus 20, its the fourth straight quarter of improvement.

The Japanese economy has tended to stagnate in recent years, with slow wage increases, and has recently been hit by inflationary pressures, even as some parts of the nation’s economy continue to experince deflation, the opposite trend in which prices continually decrease. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — First Citizens Bank is buying much of Silicon Valley Bank, the tech-focused financial institution whose failure this month set off a chain reaction that helped rattle faith in banks around the world.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and other regulators had already taken extraordinary steps to head off a wider crisis by guaranteeing all depositors in SVB and another failed institution, Signature Bank, could get their money, even if they had more than the $250,000 limit insured by the FDIC.

The First Citizens deal announced late Sunday, at least initially, seemed to achieve what regulators have sought: a shoring up of trust in other regional banks across the country.

Stock prices strengthened for First Republic, PacWest Bancorp. and other banks that investors have spotlighted as most at risk for a sudden exodus of nervous customers, similar to the run that caused Silicon Valley Bank’s failure. Continue reading