Several countries, including the U.S., U.K., and South Africa, raised their benchmark interest rates this week. The Bank of England raised its interest rate by 0.5% to 2.25% on Thursday and signaled possibly more increases in the future to bring down record-high inflation in the nation. Some members of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee had wanted a larger 75-basis-point increase. More: - Norway’s central bank raised its interest rate by 0.5% to 2.25% and signaled plans for more smaller rate hikes in November, December, and March.
- The country aims to reach 3% by the end of winter.
- Sweden’s central bank raised its interest rate by 1% on Tuesday, its largest rate hike in 30 years.
- The U.S. Federal Reserve announced a 0.75% rate hike on Wednesday, its third consecutive 0.75% increase.
- Switzerland’s National Bank raised its interest rate by 0.75%, moving its benchmark rate to the positive – 0.5% – for the first time in eight years.
- The South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) raised its interest rate by 0.75% to 6.25% on Thursday.
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China's Tencent wants to divest its ownership stakes in some Chinese tech companies. According to sources, the social-media and videogame giant is looking to raise funds for a series of share buybacks and refocus its growth strategy. Tencent owns the Chinese super app WeChat. More: - Companies in Tencent's portfolio include embattled ride-hailing firm Didi Global, online real-estate brokerage KE Holdings, and food-delivery company Meituan.
- According to sources, Tencent is in no rush to execute the divestments and has not revealed a timeline.
- In addition to repurchasing its shares, the company aims to raise funds to invest in other areas, including healthcare and video games.
- Tencent's stakes in Didi, Meituan, and KE Holdings were valued at $29B as of market close on Monday.
- According to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu, Tencent's stakes in listed companies have a total value of $82.7B.
In related news: - Last week Tencent received its first videogame approval in China in more than a year.
- The game, Defense of Health, is an educational game where players learn about the human body and how to prevent the invasion of viruses.
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Credit Suisse is exploring splitting its investment bank into three separate businesses. According to sources, the Swiss banking giant hopes to sell its profitable units like its securitized products business to raise funds and put off a potentially damaging capital raise. The bank has been embroiled in various scandals in recent years. More: - Credit Suisse’s board and executive team are planning to reveal the new strategy at its Q3 earnings call set for Oct. 27.
- The plan is expected to include thousands of job cuts.
- Proposals under consideration include splitting the bank into three – an advisory business, a “bad bank” for high-risk assets, and the rest of the company.
- Credit Suisse is also considering re-launching its First Boston brand for the investment bank unit.
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The FTC is investigating Amazon’s planned $1.7B acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot. The federal antitrust agency has formally requested documents from both companies explaining the purpose and rationale behind the proposed deal. More: - The FTC is also investigating Amazon’s planned $3.9B acquisition of primary-care clinic operator 1Life Healthcare.
- An FTC investigation could take up to a year, after which the agency could sue to block the merger, seek concessions such as divestitures, or take no action, allowing the deal to close.
- Under current Chair Lina Khan, the FTC has been cracking down on acquisitions by big tech firms, noting the deals often hurt competition and give the companies control over valuable consumer data.
- The FTC is also investigating Amazon’s Prime membership program.
In related news: - The FTC rejected Amazon’s bid to exclude founder and chairman Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy from testifying in its investigation into the company’s Prime Program.
- Amazon had accused the agency of harassing its top executives in demanding their testimony.
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The U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are forming alliances to secure their semiconductor supply chain and curb China’s advancement in the industry. Semiconductor chips are a critical technology for economies and national security. More: - The chips are used in several products, including smartphones, vehicles, AI applications, and military weaponry.
- Due to the ongoing global chip shortage sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, nations worldwide have been working to secure their semiconductor chip supplies.
- Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. has passed legislation aimed at reshoring semiconductor chip manufacturing.
- The semiconductor chip supply chain is complex and involves several areas, from design to packaging to manufacturing.
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Airline company Mesa Air Group is offering pilots a new way to earn the flight hours required to secure work as commercial pilots. Mesa Air plans to provide these pilots with interest-free loans to fly small two-seat planes to achieve the necessary hours they need to work for the airline. More: - Mesa is a regional airline that flies for United Airlines, American Airlines, and DHL Express.
- Mesa recently acquired 29 small two-seat planes with the option to buy as many as 75 additional aircraft over the next year.
- The airline hopes the new offer will help with the ongoing pilot shortage.
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- The Justice Department was approved to continue investigating the classified documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. The U.S. appeals court for the 11th circuit granted the DOJ’s request to halt an order by a district judge prohibiting the DOJ from examining the documents.
- During an address at the 77th United Nations General Assembly, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked global leaders to hold Russia accountable for the ongoing war in the country.
- Germany plans to nationalize Uniper, the country’s largest gas importer. Russia’s natural-gas cuts to Europe have severely impacted Uniper. The German government will take a 99% stake in the energy company and invest €8B ($8B) into the firm.
- New York’s attorney general has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, three of his children, and his company. The group is accused of falsely valuing its assets and generating $250M in ill-gotten gains.
- Activist investor Ancora Holdings is pushing for the removal of Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass and chairman Peter Boneparth. Ancora has a 2.5% stake in Kohl’s.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Freelance Writer for Inside.com. She writes the Inside Business and Inside Cloud newsletters. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, exploring cities, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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