EV Movers and Shakers; Paytm Drops 30%; IBM AI Deal

Every day, we handpick the 5 Top Stories stock market investors need to know. In 5 minutes, you’ll learn the stocks, CEOs, and money managers moving markets.

What’s New in EVs?

This week Canada is set to announce that all new cars must be zero-emissions by 2035; Volkswagen-owned [VWAGY] Audi is trimming its ambitious plans for an electric vehicle (EVs) rollout, in the context of slowing sales growth; Nissan [NSANY] has announced a partnership with China’s Tsinghua University on electrification R&D; and Vietnam’s VinFast [VFS] has signed a MoU with Japan’s Marubeni Corp [MARUY] over EV battery recycling.

Paytm Suffers on New Loans Rules

After the Reserve Bank of India announced new fintech regulations in November, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway [BRK-B] sold its 2.5% stake in Softbank-backed [SFTBY] Paytm, sending shares down over 30%. Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs-backed [GS] Saudi Arabian fintech Tamara has been valued at more than $1bn in its latest funding round. “An IPO in the Saudi market is something we believe is not only attainable but desirable,” CEO Abdulmajeed Alsukhan told Bloomberg.

IBM Buys in New AI Capabilities

Seeking to boost its artificial intelligence (AI) and hybrid cloud offerings, IBM [IBM] announced a €2.1bn agreement with long-term partner Software AG [SOW:DE] to buy StreamSets — which will bring data ingestion capabilities to watsonx, IBM’s AI and data platform — and webMethods — which will bring integration and management tools to its hybrid multi-cloud environments.

Cancer Trial Success for GSK

On Monday GSK [GSK] announced that a combination of its cancer drugs Zejula and Jemperli, used as a maintenance therapy following the use of Jemperli plus chemotherapy, had met the main goal of a late-stage trial to treat endometrial cancer. The pharma giant, which is in the process of rebooting its oncology business, said that the treatment resulted in a “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” benefit for patients.

SenseTime Drops After Founder’s Death

After falling 18%, Chinese tech firm SenseTime [0020:HK] closed Monday down 11% in Hong Kong, following the death on Friday of co-founder and major shareholder Tang Xiao’ou. A pioneer in the field of facial and image recognition, the company went public in 2021. However, increased competition, combined with a US blacklisting in 2019, have dented the firm’s growth in recent years.