Global Headlines Recap: February Highlights
Lea Atallah
QARA Associate Director at Zimmer Biomet | Executive MBA at ESCP Business School | 11+ Years Driving Growth in Emerging Markets | Leadership & Design Thinking
In the medley of February's global landscape, a spectrum of pivotal events unfolded, shaping narratives that echo across borders. From health concerns for King Charles to Guatemala's delicate trade considerations with China, the month summarized geopolitical complexities. Legal battles loomed as a U.S. judge set a trial date for the case against Google, while China fortified its stock market defenses. Meta and Snap diverged in ad growth, reflecting the evolving dynamics of social media platforms. As silver demand surged and Pakistan secured elections through mobile service suspension, the world witnessed a treasure of events, each headline adding a layer to the complex global narrative. Join me in a detailed exploration of these February highlights, solving the threads that connect them to the broader medley of our interconnected world.
1.?????? King Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and will postpone public engagements to undergo treatment, but added he remained "wholly positive" about the scare less than 18 months into his reign.
2.?????? Guatemala is considering reaching out to develop formal trade ties with China, the Central American country's foreign minister told Reuters, although it plans to maintain its existing relations with Taiwan.
3.?????? A U.S. federal judge date for the start of a jury trial in a lawsuit the U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of states filed last year against Google (GOOGL.O) that accused the company of abusing its dominance of digital advertising technology.
4.?????? Chinese brokerages, including state-owned behemoth China International Capital Corp (CICC), have restricted the amount of cross-border swap transactions domestic investors can undertake, as authorities seek to defend the weak stock market.
5.?????? A door panel that flew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet mid-flight on Jan. 5 appeared to be missing four key bolts, according to a preliminary report from U.S. investigators that provided the first official look into how the frightening mishap took shape.
6.?????? Meta’s ad business, which includes Facebook and Instagram, grew 24% from a year earlier, lifting the company to its fastest rate of expansion since mid-2021. Snap reported an increase of just 5% year-over-year, its sixth straight quarter of single-digit growth or a decline in sales. That’s slower than advertising growth at Google, Amazon and Microsoft in addition to Meta.
7.?????? Global silver demand is forecast to reach 1.2 billion ounces in 2024, which would mark the second-highest level on record, the Silver Institute said in a recent report.
8.?????? Pakistan temporarily suspended mobile phone services to strengthen security as voting began in the country's national election.
9.?????? A commander from Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq that the Pentagon has blamed for attacking its troops, was killed in a U.S. strike, the U.S. military said.
10.?? Most Asian markets tracked Wall Street higher, but Chinese stocks were battling to sustain a rally after data raised concerns about deflationary pressures in China and suggested the economic slowdown may have further to run.
11.?? Trapped in and around Rafah, more than 1 million Palestinians braced for Israel to complete a plan to evacuate them and launch a ground assault against Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza city.
12.?? The United States, Britain and the European Union separately expressed concerns about Pakistan's electoral process in the wake of a vote and urged a probe into reported irregularities.
13.?? The White House blasted a report from a Department of Justice special counsel that suggested President Joe Biden was suffering memory lapses, and Vice President Kamala Harris called the report "clearly politically motivated."
14.?? Network giant Cisco (CSCO.O) is planning to restructure its business which will include laying off thousands of employees, as it seeks to focus on high-growth areas, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
15.?? Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview that Russia will fight for its interests "to the end" but has no interest in expanding its war in Ukraine to other countries such as Poland and Latvia.
16.?? Hungarian President Katalin Novak resigned after coming under mounting pressure for pardoning a man convicted of helping to cover up sexual abuse in a children's home.
17.?? Amazon.com (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos sold around 12 million shares of the online retail and cloud services firm for roughly $2 billion, soon after laying out a plan to sell his shares over the next year.
18.?? U.S. President Joe Biden and top western officials criticized former president Donald Trump after he suggested the United States might not protect NATO allies who aren't spending enough on defence from a potential Russian invasion.
19.?? U.S. shale oil rivals Diamondback Energy (FANG.O) and Endeavor Energy Resources are close to finalizing a roughly $25 billion cash-and-stock deal that would create an oil and gas company valued at more than $50 billion.
20.?? China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC seems to have been manufacturing advanced chips in the last few months — defying U.S. sanctions designed to slow down Beijing’s progress. But there are still some major challenges to China’s bid to become more self-sufficient in the semiconductor industry, with questions swirling around the long-term viability of its latest advancements.
21.?? A federal judge ordered Elon Musk to testify again in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s probe of his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, giving the regulator and the billionaire a week to agree on a date and location for the interview.
22.?? France has delivered a written proposal to Beirut aimed at ending hostilities with Israel and settling the disputed Lebanon-Israel frontier, according to a document seen by Reuters that calls for fighters including Hezbollah's elite unit to withdraw 10 km (6 miles) from the border.
23.?? Indonesians cast their ballots on Wednesday across the Southeast Asian archipelago in an election headlined by the race to succeed President Joko Widodo, whose influence could determine who takes the helm of the world's third-largest democracy.
24.?? The United Nations warned against an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, saying an offensive could "lead to a slaughter" in the southern region of the Palestinian enclave where more than 1 million people are sheltering.
25.?? A Reuters investigation late last year found that Musk’s rocket company disregarded worker-safety regulations and standard practices at its facilities nationwide. Through interviews and government records, the news organization documented at least 600 previously unreported injuries of SpaceX workers since 2014.
26.?? The Year of the Dragon is known to be an auspicious year to have a baby, but experts believe that China’s birth rates are unlikely to see a big rise in 2024 due to high youth unemployment and continuous economic turmoil.
27.?? Japan unexpectedly slipped into a recession at the end of last year, losing its title as the world's third-biggest economy to Germany and raising doubts about when the central bank would begin to exit its decade-long ultra-loose monetary policy.
28.?? Nine civilians including four children were killed in a barrage of Israeli strikes on villages across southern Lebanon, a hospital director and three Lebanese security sources said, as Israel said it responded to Hezbollah rockets that killed a soldier.
29.?? A barrage of gunfire erupted in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, near an outdoor celebration of the NFL champion Chiefs' Super Bowl victory, killing at least one person and wounding 21 others as throngs of fans scurried for safety.
30.?? Cisco said it would let go of 5% of employees, which works out to around 4,250 people.
31.?? Greece's parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, a landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights that was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens.
32.?? Japan’s central bank is expected to exit its negative interest rate regime this spring, though sluggish growth will limit its ability to alleviate depreciation pressure on the yen, according to a former Bank of Japan board member.
33.?? Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's most formidable domestic opponent, fell unconscious and died after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, authorities said.
34.?? Donald Trump must pay $354.9 million in penalties for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders, a New York judge ruled, handing the former U.S. president another legal setback in a civil case that imperils his real estate empire.
35.?? Senior U.S., Arab and European officials met in Munich to discus progress on formulating a plan for post-war Gaza that would be linked to normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, officials and diplomats said.
36.?? Thailand's convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole, his lawyer said, starting a first day of freedom in his homeland, 15 years after fleeing in the wake of his overthrow by the royalist military. The influential billionaire, whose family's party is now in power in Thailand, was freed from hospital detention six months into a sentence for abuse of power and conflicts of interest, that was commuted from eight years to one by the country's king.
37.?? Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI has completed a deal that values the artificial intelligence company at $80 billion or more, the New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the deal. The company would sell existing shares in a so-called tender offer led by venture firm Thrive Capital, the report said.
38.?? NATO members weighed the U.S.′ possible withdrawal from the military alliance if Donald Trump returns to the White House, with Hillary Clinton saying he would waste no time in quitting if re-elected.
39.?? Germany’s defense minister said that his country’s commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defense was just the starting point and that more would likely be needed. The comments come after former U.S. President Donald Trump said that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members that don’t meet the alliance’s defense spending guidelines.
40.?? China cut the benchmark reference rate for mortgages at a monthly fixing by more than expected, as authorities ramped up efforts to stimulate credit demand and revive the property market.
41.?? Capital One Financial is set to acquire Discover Financial Services in a $35.3 billion all-stock deal.
42.?? Israel intensified its bombardment of Rafah in Gaza's south and over a dozen members of one family were killed in an air strike, residents said, as the ruined Palestinian enclave's health ministry announced 29,313 deaths in the war so far.
43.?? Japan's efforts to rebuild its semiconductor industry are getting a shot in the arm as more and more Taiwanese chip companies expand here - not only to support a new TSMC (2330.TW) plant but also excited about the Japanese sector's prospects.
44.?? Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, six sources told Reuters, deepening the military cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries.
45.?? President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "crazy SOB" during a fundraiser in San Francisco, warning there is always the threat of nuclear conflict but that the existential threat to humanity remains climate. "This is the last existential threat. It is climate. We have a crazy SOB like that guy Putin and others and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is climate," Biden told a small group of donors.
46.?? More than 8,000 South Korean trainee doctors have walked off the job in protest against a government plan to admit more students to medical schools.
47.?? Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a record high on Thursday as robust corporate profitability and steps aimed at boosting investor returns fuel a blistering rally in Japanese equities this year. The Nikkei 225 hit 38,924.88, surpassing the previous record high of 38,915.87 reached in 1989.
48.?? The United States will impose sanctions on over 500 targets on Feb 24 in action marking the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters in an interview. The action, taken in partnership with other countries, will target Russia's military industrial complex and companies in third countries that facilitate Russia's access to goods it wants, Adeyemo said, as Washington seeks to hold Russia to account over the war and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
49.?? The head of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) told the United Nations Security Council that medical teams in the Gaza Strip have come up with a new acronym: WCNSF - wounded child, no surviving family.
50.?? A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines landed near the moon's south pole, the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever achieved by the private sector.
51.?? Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and his party are scrambling to contain the fallout from a conservative Alabama court ruling that prompted some state providers to suspend in vitro fertilization treatments, while Democrats seized on the outcome as more evidence that reproductive rights are under assault.
52.?? Donald Trump easily defeated Nikki Haley in South Carolina's Republican contest, extending his winning streak as he marches toward a third consecutive presidential nomination and a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.
53.?? Chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) is nearing a $3.8 billion deal to sell its business that allows users to access desktops and applications from any device to private equity firm KKR (KKR.N), people familiar with the matter.
54.?? Berkshire Hathaway reported a big rise in operating earnings in the fourth quarter, thanks to huge gains in its insurance business, while its cash pile expanded to record levels. The Omaha-based conglomerate posted operating earnings — which refers to profits from businesses across insurance, railroads and utilities — of $8.481 billion in the quarter ending December. That’s 28% above the $6.625 billion from the year-ago period.
55.?? The tug-of-war between the South Korean government and the medical profession over the proposed increase in the number of medical students is turning into chaos. The authorities raised the health alert level to "serious", given the disruption to hospital activity caused by an unpopular strike launched by doctors. They are protesting against plans to increase the number of medical students by 2025 – from the current 3,058 to just over 5,000. They're mostly striking due to work conditions. The increase in training positions was just the straw that broke the camels back.
56.?? Trade ministers from nearly every country in the world gather in Abu Dhabi for a World Trade Organization meeting that aims to set new global commerce rules, but even its ambitious chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has sought to curb expectations.
57.?? U.S. President Joe Biden said he hopes to have a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza start by March 4th as the warring parties appeared to close in on a deal during negotiations in Qatar that also aim to broker the release of hostages.
58.?? The United States cautioned Pacific Islands nations against assistance from Chinese security forces after Reuters reported that Chinese police are working in the remote atoll nation of Kiribati, a neighbor of Hawaii.
59.?? As economic and geopolitical woes spur an exodus of investors from China, many have been redirecting money into Japan, giving the benchmark Nikkei (.N225) an extra boost as it rockets to all-time highs.
60.?? Hungary's parliament approved Sweden's NATO accession, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country whose neutrality lasted through two world wars and the simmering conflict of the Cold War.
61.?? Yemen's Houthis said they could only reconsider their missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea once Israel ends its "aggression" in the Gaza Strip.
62.?? New Zealand will repeal a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and campaigners warned of the risk that people could die as a result.
63.?? Apple will wind down its team working on electric cars, called Special Projects Group, according to Bloomberg. The news signals an end to Apple’s secretive effort to build a car to rival Tesla. The program employed thousands of employees but never fit with Apple’s core business of electronics and online services, and raised questions about where Apple would turn for the manufacturing of a vehicle.
64.?? Bumble announced plans to lay off about 350 employees as part of a restructuring plan. A company spokesperson said the cuts amount to about 30% of Bumble’s workforce.
65.?? A massive fire that raced through a six-storey building overnight in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has killed at least 43 people and injured dozens, the country's health minister said.
66.?? India has approved building three semiconductor plants with investments of more than $15 billion as the country aims to become a major chip hub.
References: Reuters, CNBC, Al Jazeera, The Economist
Navigating through such intricate global narratives truly echoes Henry Ford's philosophy - Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success ???. It's fascinating to see how these events weave a tapestry of change. #GlobalDynamics #Inspiration