Updated at 4:14 pm EDT Microsoft  (MSFT) - Get Free Report posted stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings late Tuesday, powered once again by gains it is cloud division, with the tech giant highlighting its first-mover advantage in AI to boost near-term profits.  Microsoft said revenues for Azure, its flagship cloud division, rose 29% from last year over the three months ending in September, just ahead of the 26% to 28% Street forecast but slowing from earlier gains in the mid to high 40% range as companies continue to pull back on digital infrastructure spending amid glob ..read more

A number of the victims had strong links to the energy sector, and four were executives at state-owned Gazprom. It used to be easy being an oligarch. One of the wealthiest people in the world, you had entree to some of the most exclusive places, people and things. Everyone clamored for your time, attention and, most of all, money. But now the tide has turned. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in March, the Russian oligarch class has seen itself backed into a variety of hazards and inconveniences. Several hundred of them have been sanctioned by global authorities, although many of the very wealthies ..read more

He reportedly suffered short-term blindness and found the skin on his hands and face peeling off. One of the world's most visible oligarchs, Roman Abramovich, was briefly blinded in a suspected poisoning while visiting Ukraine earlier this month on a peacekeeping mission, reports said this week. Abramovich is one of the world's most high-profile oligarchs, owning both the Chelsea Football Club and one of the world's largest yachts. He has been offered up as a bridge between hard-line Kremlin backers close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian negotiators trying to broker peace ..read more

People who are in key positions in risk management, operations and trading have all been asked to stay in place for now. Chinese traders spent the night in sleeping bags on trading floors in Shanghai, reports said Monday, as their respective firms attempted to get ahead of a lockdown as the region undergoes its worst Covid-19 outbreak in months. Sinolink Securities confirmed Monday that it had sent a memo to employees asking them to return to the office by midnight to make sure the trading activities weren't interrupted by a staff switchover. Two of the biggest local players, Bocom and Hu ..read more

The ultra-rich Russians, often close to Vladimir Putin, are in the crosshairs of the United States and their European allies. It is a nation that even Charles Dickens would find a tough time describing. Once the attempted dream of exact equality for all under official communism, Russia has been one of the world's largest monarchies, then a global force as the Soviet Union, and now a modern first world country with some of the wealthiest people in the world living alongside some of the most impoverished. In short, it had a long and complex 20th century. But with its latest chapter still being w ..read more

A land war in Europe.  A complex financial system that few international regulators understand.  And a proxy fight between the world’s major powers that has rattled international markets and average citizens alike, while the ultra-rich dodge sanctions put in place to end the conflict. It sounds like something out of a James Bond movie.  But in this case, it is the state of global affairs currently — and how successful each player in the game is depends on their access to time, strategy and most of all, money. Wondering who made the list of Russians hit with sanctions? TheStreet ..read more

It is an exotic word, which has become a catch-all since the first American-European sanctions against Russia for having invaded Ukraine. Oligarch. A word that we have heard a lot recently, as if it were the adjective to describe something, someone, even a country. It's on everyone's lips as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensifies and world leaders look to more and heavier sanctions. Oligarch is used often and freely, usually as shorthand for who international authorities may be looking to target with many of these narrowed rules. But what does the word itself mean?  Before th ..read more

The world economy is reaching $100 trillion by 2022 instead of 2024 with China leading the way. The world economy will reach $100 trillion by 2022 instead of 2024, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.  China will lead the way of being the global top economy and gross domestic product, the London-based group noted. Global economies will see their GDP increase while they recover from the pandemic, but could be stymied from higher inflationary risks. “The important issue for the 2020s is how the world economies cope with inflation,” said Douglas McWilliams, the C ..read more

Apple reaches $3 trillion capitalization Monday, roughly 500 days after passing the $2 trillion mark. Apple  (AAPL) - Get Apple Inc. Report became the first U.S. company to reach $3 trillion in market capitalization Monday, as the computer giant briefly crossed the stunning milestone during intraday trading. On the first day of trading in 2022, the company's shares hit a record of $182.88 in mid-day trading. Shares of the Cupertino, Calif. company were up 2.4% to $181.76 at last check. Apple reached $3 trillion roughly 500 days after it first passed the $2 trillion level. I ..read more

Didi Global stock surges on reports the recently public ride-hailing giant is pondering going private to placate Chinese regulators and compensate investors. Didi Global’s  (DIDI) - Get Report stock price surged on Thursday, jumping as much as 49% in premarket trading after The Wall Street Journal reported the Chinese ride-hailing giant was considering going private to placate Chinese regulators and compensate investors for losses. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal reported that Beijing-based Didi has been in discussions with bankers, regulators and key investors ab ..read more