Hey folks, welcome to this Saturday’s rundown of the top news!
[ESG] The S&P 500 booted electric vehicle maker Tesla from its ESG Index as part of an annual update to the list. Meanwhile, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and even oil and gas multinational Exxon Mobil were still included on the list. The S&P 500 ESG Index uses environmental, social and governance data to rank and effectively recommend companies to investors. Its criteria include hundreds of data points per company that pertain to the way businesses affect the planet and treat stakeholders beyond shareholders — including customers, employees, vendors, partners and neighbors.
Over60: CNBC
[Business] Southeast Asian super app Grab has cut quarterly losses for the first time in 18 months, sending its shares up 24% after a long decline following a Spac merger, which it listed with a valuation of $40bn. The Singapore-based group, which went public last year in one of the world’s biggest Spac deals, reported a loss of $435mn for the first quarter on Thursday, 60% lower than the previous three months and its first improvement since the third quarter of 2020.
Over60: F.T.
[Russia] Google’s Russian subsidiary plans to file for bankruptcy after the authorities seized its bank account following a series of clashes between Moscow and the US tech giant over the content on its site. Google told the Financial Times the seizure of its account had “made it untenable for our Russia office to function, including employing and paying Russian-based employees, paying suppliers and vendors and meeting other financial obligations.” Russia has repeatedly fined Google over the past year over its refusal to remove content that Moscow dislikes and deems illegal.
Over60: F.T.