The discovery of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States has galvanized lawmakers' efforts to ban TikTok, the fast-growing social media app owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, a move that could buoy U.S. rivals. Conversely, it could hurt Oracle (ORCL), the U.S. operating partner TikTok chose to address U.S. security concerns. Republican senators Marco Rubio and Josh Hawley have filed separate bills banning the TikTok app. Read More...
Reuters
Analysis-Loans to Russian soldiers fuel calls for European banks to quit
A Russian scheme to grant loan payment holidays to troops fighting in Ukraine, and for banks to write off the entire debt if they are killed or maimed, has added to growing pressure for the remaining overseas lenders in Russia to leave. Almost a year since Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, a handful of European banks, including Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International and Italy’s UniCredit, are still making money in Russia. The loan relief scheme has not only triggered criticism from Ukraine’s central bank, which said it had appealed to Raiffeisen and other banks to stop doing business in Russia, but also from investors concerned about any reputational impact.
