TWITTER WEIGHS EXPANDED TWEETS
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey telegraphed that the short-messaging service is open to loosening its decade-long limit on tweets beyond 140 characters. In a tweet accompanied by a 1,325-character text, Dorsey made it clear that Twitter is not wedded to the limit. But he did not directly address a Re/Code report that said the company is exploring expanding the limit to up to 10,000 characters.
GLOBAL STOCKS FALL ON CHINA DATA, NORTH KOREA NUKE TEST
World stock markets mostly slumped Wednesday after a North Korean nuclear test unnerved investors and a report showing weakness in China’s service industries renewed worries about growth in the world’s No. 2 economy. Germany’s DAX shed 0.6 percent to 10,247.44, Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.7 percent to 6,094.83, U.S stocks were poised to open lower, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1 percent to close at 18,191.32 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1 percent to 20,980.8.
FEDERAL RESERVE TO RELEASE MINUTES FROM DECEMBER’S RATE-RAISING MEETING
The Federal Reserve will release minutes from its Dec. 15-16 meeting, when it raised interest rates from record lows. It was the Fed’s first hike in nine years.
CHINA PLANS STOCK SALE RESTRICTIONS IN WAKE OF SLIDE
China plans to restrict stock sales by large shareholders once a ban imposed in July to stop a slide in prices is lifted this week. Stockholders who own more than 5 percent of a company will be required to sell shares through private transactions to “avoid shocks to the market,” the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on its microblog.
SURVEY SUGGESTS EUROZONE ECONOMY FACES UPBEAT YEAR
The 19-country eurozone’s economy is poised for a year of “robust expansion” following its best quarterly performance in 4 1/2 years, a closely watched survey from financial information company Markit indicated Wednesday. The eurozone economy has been recovering for over two years now but it has failed to pick up much momentum.
