Honor to IPO; GM’s Cruise to Resume; $1.4bn Amazon Robot Deal?

Former Huawei Unit to IPO

The global smartphone market received a boost last month from emerging markets, Huawei’s rally in China and Apple’s September launch of the iPhone 15. The segment grew 5% year-over-year, its first uptick in 27 months, according to a report by Counterpoint Research. In China, BOE Technology Group [000725:SZ ]-backed smartphone-maker Honor Device is preparing an initial public offering, three years after its spin-off from Huawei.

EU Green Light for $1.4bn Amazon Robot Deal?

The EU may award antitrust approval to Amazon [AMZN] for its $1.4bn acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot [IRBT], sources told Reuters. The move would buck the recent trend of regulators upping their scrutiny of big tech acquisitions and the threat they pose to smaller competitors. In July, the European Commission had warned Amazon of its intention to protect local players from the US e-commerce giant’s market dominance. The watchdog has until 14 February to make its decision.

GM’s Cruise to Slowly Resume Service

General Motors [GM]’s driverless car unit Cruise is aiming to reintroduce its robotaxi service after a brutal accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco, causing the unit to pause all robotaxi operations. “Once we have taken steps to improve our safety culture and rebuild trust, our strategy is to relaunch in one city and prove our performance there, before expanding,” Cruise said in an emailed statement seen by Bloomberg. GM’s share price was flat on the news.

Binance’s Billion-Dollar Outflow

Blockchain analysis firm Nansen has reported $1bn outflows from cryptocurrency exchange Binance in 24 hours, reported CNBC, following its Founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao stepping down on Tuesday. Zhao pleaded guilty to charges of violations of the Bank Secrecy Act in the US, which allege that Binance failed to implement an effective anti-money-laundering program and violated US economic sanctions. The exchange’s native token BNB fell by as much as 8% on Tuesday.

Glencore and Li-Cycle’s EV Battery Recycling Plant

Glencore [GLEN:L] has said that the testing and demonstration phase of its pilot electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling facility will be located outside Italy, reports Reuters. The project, a collaboration with Li-Cycle [LICY], is still slated to be based in Sardinia, but the two firms have reportedly agreed to locate the pilot elsewhere following the island’s regional government declining to fast-track an environmental assessment.