Weekly news summary for September 17 to September 23, 2021
Friday, Sept. 17, 2021: Verizon Raises iPhone 13 Subsidies to $1,000
US telecom company Verizon Communications Inc. announced on Friday that it is raising subsidies on offer for Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 13 to draw more customers to its network and keep up with the competition.
The company said it would now offer $1000 worth of trade-in subsidies from its previous $700, effectively matching AT&T Inc.’s $1,000 store credit, with the biggest subsidies granted to customers who turn in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models.
Monday, Sept. 20, 2021: Yellen Requests Congress to Raise Debt Ceiling
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has requested Congress to increase the debt ceiling to prevent a debt default that may lead to a “historic financial crisis” and a weakened country.
An editorial piece on the Wall Street Journal stated that Yellen said a default-driven financial crisis would worsen the effects from the pandemic, disrupting financial markets and dragging the world’s largest economy back down to a recession at the price of millions of jobs and long-term rate hike.
Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021: Universal Music Group Rises 36% on Trading Debut
Universal Music Group (UMG) rose on its trading debut in Europe’s biggest listing of the year so far, following its spun off from French media conglomerate Vivendi SE, valuing the world’s largest music company at over €45 billion ($52.8 billion) and signaling optimism in the future of the music business.
Shares of UMG, which were listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange, climbed €25 ($29.32) per share on Tuesday, soaring 36.5% above the reference price €18.5 per share and strengthening stocks of Sony Group Corp. by 3.6% and Hipgnosis Songs Fund by 0.6% in London.
Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021: Evergrande Group to Pay Onshore Bond Interest
Chinese real estate firm Evergrande Group’s main unit stated on Wednesday that it would make an onshore bond payment on September 23 after reaching an agreement with bondholders, as investors expressed concern over a potential default by the company.
Evergrande’s announcement eliminated the biggest worry around the troubled property developer, although it provided no hints on whether it would make more interest payments on its dollar bonds on Thursday.
Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021: GM Invests $300M in Self-Driving Startup Momenta
US car giant General Motors Co. announced on Thursday its plans to invest $300 million in Beijing-based autonomous driving startup Momenta, backed by Toyota Motor Corp. and Daimler AG, to create self-driving technologies for future vehicles in China.
The investment in Momenta marks the first autonomous driving partnership that GM, which is building vehicles in China with SAIC Motor Corp., made in the country, where it sold about three million cars in 2020.
