Hey folks, welcome to this week's rundown of the top news!
[Business] A US jury has convicted former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng in connection with the multibillion-dollar 1MDB embezzlement, handing prosecutors a high-profile victory in a scandal that has reverberated from Malaysia and Singapore to Wall Street. After a trial lasting nearly two months, and four days of deliberation, jurors on Friday found Ng, 49, guilty on all three counts in the case: conspiring to violate US anti-bribery laws, conspiring to launder money and conspiring to sidestep Goldman’s internal accounting controls. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Under60: F.T.
[Oil] Shell will write down up to $5 billion following its decision to exit Russia, more than previously disclosed, while soaring oil and gas prices boosted trading activities in the first quarter, the company said on Thursday. The post-tax impairments of between $4 billion and $5 billion in the first quarter will not impact the company's earnings, Shell said in an update ahead of its earnings announcement on May 5.
Over60: Reuters
[Elon] Elon Musk took a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc. to become the platform’s biggest shareholder, a week after hinting he might shake up the social media industry. Twitter shares surged as much as 27% after Musk’s purchase was revealed Monday in a regulatory filing. The gain marked the stock’s biggest intraday increase since its first day of trading following the company’s 2013 initial public offering. The stake is worth about $2.89 billion, based on Friday’s market close.
Over60: Bloomberg
[EU] The German government has announced an aid package to support companies hit by the fallout of the Ukraine war and the sanctions against Russia, the leading energy supplier to the eurozone’s biggest economy. The measures include a new €100bn program of short-term loans from the state-owned KfW development bank for energy companies struggling to cover the vastly increased cost of insuring themselves against higher oil and gas prices.
Over60: F.T.
[Russia] Russia’s central bank cut interest rates on Friday in a bid to cushion the economy from the impact of western sanctions, saying the recent rebound in the rouble had eased inflationary pressures. The Bank of Russia said it would lower its key interest rate to 17% from its previous high of 20%. It had more than doubled borrowing costs in late February in an effort to prop up the currency after the US and western allies responded to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine with harsh financial measures including the freezing of a large chunk of its foreign reserves.
Over60: F.T.