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NEW YORK — Twitter shares rose sharply on Monday amid reports the company will soon accept Elon Musk's takeover offer, a dramatic shift after the board originally organised a "poison pill" defence to ward off the billionaire entrepreneur's hostile buyout bid.

The deal, which media outlets including The Wall Street Journal reported would put the Tesla boss in charge of the influential social media site that is perhaps best known for at one time being the platform of choice for former US president Donald Trump.

About 20 minutes into trading, Twitter shares were up 3.6 per cent amid an otherwise downbeat day in New York, where the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 were all in the red by under one per cent.

Musk had earlier this month launched his $43 billion ‘hostile’ takeover bid for the company, casting it as a promotion of freedom of speech.

While the firm's board said it was reviewing the offer, it later rebuffed him and adopted a "poison pill" plan that would make it harder for Musk to acquire a controling stake.

Last week, Musk — considered the world's richest man due to the explosive popularity of Tesla electric vehicles as well as other ventures — said he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing for the deal and was "exploring" a direct tender offer to shareholders.

In a filing, Musk pointed to a $13 billion debt facility from a financing consortium led by Morgan Stanley, a separate $12.5 billion margin loan from the same bank, as well as $21 billion from Musk's personal fortune as being behind the deal.

AMMAN — Capital Bank achieved record net profit for the first quarter of 2022, at a 34.8 per cent increase compared to its profits for the same period last year, the bank said in a statement, indicating that this is the highest quarterly profit since its establishment. 

According to its preliminary financial figures, the bank’s net profit in the first quarter of the year ending in March amounted to JD40.2 million, compared to JD29.8 million as per the financial results published for the same period last year. 

The bank’s net profit after excluding non-recurring items totaled JD19.5 million, compared to JD10.2 million for the same period of 2021.

Capital Bank Group also recorded a 38.6 per cent increase in assets during the same period, reinforced by its acquisition of Société Générale Bank — Jordan, reaching JD6 billion, compared to JD4.3 billion by the end of 2021. 

Moreover, its net credit facilities portfolio rose to JD2.9 billion by the end of March compared to JD2 billion at the end of last year.

Customer deposits recorded a 47.5 per cent increase by the end of the first quarter of 2022, reaching JD4.1 billion compared to JD2.8 billion at the end of 2021.

In the statement, Capital Bank Group Chairman Bassem Khalil Al Salem said "the first quarter’s positive results were evident in most financial indicators", adding that the significant growth rates were achieved in profits without considering non-recurring items, which is a clear indication of the country’s economic recovery. 

Al Salem asserted that the national economy has turned the page since the recession that affected it as a result of the coronavirus pandemic due to the efficient use of available financial and regulatory tools as well as the way that the country came together to overcome the challenges it faced with minimum losses. According to Al Salem, the last two years should serve as a reminder of how strong the Jordanian economy is, as well as its resilience in the face of difficult economic conditions. 

Al Salem praised the long list of structural economic and financial reforms that have been implemented over the past years, adding that "they have paved the way to the achievement of sustainable and comprehensive economic development".

NEW YORK — The so-called "poison pill" Twitter has proposed to use against Elon Musk's potential "hostile" takeover is a mechanism with a proven track record that could force the outspoken entrepreneur into negotiations.

To halt a takeover, the board plans to activate the pill if the Tesla CEO comes to own more than 15 per cent of Twitter. 

He already holds 9.2 per cent of the company, and said on Thursday he has ready the $46.5 billion necessary to make an offer for the rest. 

Such a "pill" would allow other Twitter shareholders to purchase shares at half price, increasing the amount of shares in circulation and weakening Musk's influence. 

It would then be nearly impossible for him to take total control of the company without having to spend significantly more than he had originally planned. 

"The dilution created by this defence has generally served its intended deterrence effect," explained Eric Wehrly, associate professor of finance at Western Washington University. 

The "poison pill" was invented 40 years ago by business lawyer Martin Lipton to counteract a wave of hostile takeovers on Wall Street. 

"It was the age of the corporate raiders," Lipton explained to the media site The Deal in 2011, from investors such as Carl Icahn to Kirk Kerkorian. 

Quickly contested in court, the practice was declared legal for the first time in 1985 by the Delaware Supreme Court — a tax friendly state where Twitter, although officially based in Californian, is incorporated.

"Delaware is the home to roughly half of publicly traded companies in the US and has fairly well established law regarding the implementation of poison pills," said Jon Karpoff, a finance professor at the University of Washington. 

"Unless there's something unusual about Twitter's pill, which I would highly doubt... Musk would be unlikely to have a successful legal challenge," he said.

Boston College associate law professor Brian Quinn doesn't think the issue will even end up in court. 

"Elon Musk has no case," he said.

Negotiate and rally 

An alternative to acquiring the majority of the company would be for Musk to change the makeup of the board, according to Quinn, installing new members more in line with his vision for Twitter. 

But the agenda for Twitter's next general meeting, on May 25, is already set, meaning Musk would have to wait until the next general meeting in 2023 to even bring it up. 

The board of directors can only be removed in batches, anyways.

Some members' terms are up this year, while others will remain in their position until 2023, 2024 or 2025.

Musk wouldn't be able to win over a majority of the board until at least 2024.

According to Quinn, "there's no record of an acquirer overcoming the pill by replacing the board through two successive elections".

"The only option for an acquirer is to negotiate with the board of directors," Quinn said, presumably by proposing an even higher offer, but without any guarantee of success.

In the event of a negotiation, Musk wouldn't be able to count on the support of former Twitter head and co-founder Jack Dorsey, unless there is a quick resolution.

Dorsey, who has previously expressed affinity for the billionaire, announced after his resignation in November that he would not run for another term as director and would step down after this year's meeting. 

In tandem with the official negotiations, Musk would have to start making his case to shareholders, according to Karpoff, a task which has already begun — mainly by tweeting. 

"And I think his personal popularity among a lot of people will help them in that," Karpoff said. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if we even got a bunch of retail investors involved in struggling to acquire Twitter shares, and joining the attempt to pressure board members to strike a deal with Musk."

BRUSSELS — The European Union could agree on Friday a new regulation imposing unprecedented curbs on online content, the second part of its massive project to regulate tech companies.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) aims to ensure tougher consequences for platforms and websites that violate a long list of banned content.

The text is the companion to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which targeted anti-competitive practices among tech behemoths like Google and Facebook and was concluded in late March. 

A European source said that MEPs and EU countries were "very motivated" to get the new regulation agreed on Friday.

The DSA aims to tackle hate speech, disinformation, the selling of dangerous products and other abusive online behaviour, such as the dissemination of so-called revenge porn. 

"What is allowed in everyday life will be allowed on the Internet, but everything that is prohibited will be as well," EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton said earlier this year, describing the Internet as the "Wild West". 

Tech giants have been repeatedly called out for failing to police their platforms — a New Zealand terrorist attack that was livestreamed on Facebook in 2019 caused global outrage, and the chaotic insurrection in the US last year was promoted online. 

'Missed opportunity' 

While much of the DSA's stipulations cover all companies, it lays out special obligations for "very large platforms", defined as those with more than 45 million active users in the European Union.

The list of companies has not yet been released but will include giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, as well as Twitter and probably the likes of TikTok, Zalando and Booking.com.

These players will be obliged to assess the risks associated with the use of their services and remove illegal content. 

They will also be required to be more transparent about their data and algorithms. 

The European Commission will oversee yearly audits and be able to impose fines of up to 6 per cent of their annual sales for repeated infringements

Among the practices expected to be outlawed is the use of data on religion or political views for targeted advertising. 

Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen caused a huge stir last year when she accused her former bosses of prioritising profits over the welfare of its users. 

She hailed in November the "enormous potential" of the European regulation project, which could become a "reference" for other countries, including the United States. 

However, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) fears the text does not go far enough. 

It wants a ban on all advertising based on the surveillance of internet users and random checks on online vendors' products. 

"If we don't make online market places check who is selling and what they are selling, then it could be a missed opportunity," said Claudio Teixeira, a lawyer with BEUC. 

HONG KONG — Asian markets were marginally higher on Wednesday while oil began recovering after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded global growth forecast for 2022 had sent crude prices plunging.

The IMF slashed its outlook by 0.8 percentage points, largely over inflationary crises linked to the Ukraine war and the coronavirus pandemic — prompting a 5 per cent dive in oil prices on Tuesday. 

"The economic effects of the war are spreading far and wide — like seismic waves that emanate from the epicenter of an earthquake," IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said in a report.

Oil prices began to recover on Wednesday, however, and Asian stocks also mostly rose following a positive lead from Wall Street, where US stocks rallied on the back of promising housing-starts data and solid corporate earnings.

Both main contracts climbed, but crude has suffered major shocks this year, from the war in Ukraine to the raging coronavirus outbreak in China, where the economy has been battered by anti-COVID restrictions.

Tens of millions are still barred from leaving home in economic centre Shanghai and tech hub Shenzhen, where a COVID-19 outbreak has broken down supply lines and shuttered businesses.

"China continues to stay wedded to deleveraging parts of the economy while attempting to add stimulus in a targeted sector manner," said Jeffrey Haley, senior market analyst at Oanda. 

"However, the Shanghai lockdown and fears its COVID-zero policy will crimp growth this year continue to weigh on markets that clearly want more of the usual cast-of-thousands stimulus measures from years past."

Netflix shares plunge 

The Shanghai Composite Index was the biggest loser among major Asian markets, dropping 1.35 per cent at the close.

Hong Kong — which plummeted on Tuesday over concerns about Beijing's ongoing tech-sector crackdown — also ended down, with Chinese banks keeping lending rates unchanged.

"China disappointed markets that were looking for more comprehensive stimulus measures as it left both its one and five-year Loan prime Rates (LPR) unchanged," Haley said. 

Tokyo gained 0.86 percent, buoyed by a cheaper yen. Jakarta, Sydney and Taipei all inched upward while Seoul was flat.

Despite the rally on Wall Street, there are concerns about the impact of the earnings report from Netflix showing a drop in subscriptions in the first quarter of the year.

This was the first such drop for Netflix in a decade and hammered the streaming giant's shares, which dropped by a quarter of their value in after-market trading. 

Analysts have said this could dent Tuesday's gains when US markets open.

After closing lower on Tuesday over the IMF announcement, Europe's major markets opened the day in positive territory, with London, Paris and Frankfurt all slightly up.

PARIS — The war in Ukraine will heavily weigh down on economic growth in the eurozone, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday, as the conflict wreaks havoc on energy prices and the manufacturing sector.

The IMF revised its eurozone growth forecast for 2022 to 2.8 per cent, down from 3.9 per cent in its January estimate, with the region's biggest economy, Germany, taking a heavier hit.

"The main channel through which the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia affect the euro area economy is rising global energy prices and energy security," the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report.

The war has hurt some countries like Italy and Germany more than other European nations because they had "relatively large manufacturing sectors and greater dependence on energy imports from Russia", the IMF said.

Germany's economy is now expected to grow by 2.1 per cent this year, down from 3.8 per cent previously. Italy will also take a heavy hit, with growth of 2.3 per cent compared to an earlier forecast of 3.8 per cent.

After Moscow's invasion in February, the West including eurozone countries unleashed sanctions on Russia, affecting its financial system, aviation sector and other major parts of its economy.

Nearly two months later, prices are rising. Oil remains above 100 dollar per barrel after reaching historic highs in March, while the price of gas, wheat, aluminium, nickel and other raw materials have soared.

As a result, consumer prices in the eurozone have surged to 7.5 per cent, an all-time high.

ECB holds steady 

The global economy was pummelled by the pandemic in 2020, but it began to recover last year. 

The IMF had predicted last October that eurozone growth would be 4.3 per cent in 2022 before lowering the forecast in January due to a global supply chain crisis and the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The IMF's latest report also lowered the eurozone's growth outlook for 2023 to 2.3 per cent, down from 2.5 per cent previously.

But it slightly increased its forecast for Germany to 2.7 per cent. Italy's growth, however, will slow further to 1.7 per cent.

The war was "severely affecting the euro area economy", European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Christine Lagarde said last week, pointing to a fall in economic confidence and persistently high energy costs for households and businesses.

The ECB last month slashed its growth forecast for 2022 to 3.7 per cent from 4.2 per cent previously predicted, and warned inflation would soar in the eurozone area, but it has yet to follow the US Federal Reserve in raising rates to tame prices.

Similarly, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in March that eurozone growth risked being cut by up to 1.4 percentage points while inflation would increase by 2.5 percentage points over a year if the war's impact proves to be lasting.

BEIJING — China's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year to 4.8 per cent, official data showed on Monday, but the government warned of "significant challenges" ahead while massive COVID-19 lockdowns started to bite.

The world's second-biggest economy had lost steam in the latter half of last year with a property slump and regulatory crackdowns, pulling down growth.

But it exceeded expectations in the first three months of 2022, growing 4.8 per cent  on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, with Lunar New Year spending and factory production cajoling growth.

The weeks ahead, however, appear treacherous for the economy with Beijing's unrelenting zero-COVID approach to outbreaks clogging supply chains and locking down tens of millions of people — including in the economic dynamos of Shanghai and Shenzhen as well as the northeastern grain basket of Jilin.

Virus restrictions in March have already gouged at retail sales, as consumers shied away from shopping, and drove up unemployment.

"With the domestic and international environment becoming increasingly complicated and uncertain, economic development is facing significant difficulties and challenges," NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said on Monday.

The pandemic rebound — as well as the sanctions binding Russia's economy — ups the ante on officials to deliver Beijing's full-year growth target of around 5.5 per cent.

The target comes in a pivotal political year for President Xi Jinping who is eyeing another term in power at the Party Congress to be held this autumn.

The current virus outbreak is the worst since the peak of the first wave which emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, and the economy is beginning to weaken. 

Industrial production growth eased to 5 per cent in March, NBS data showed, down from the January-February period.

Meanwhile, retail sales sank 3.5 per cent and the urban unemployment rate ticked up to a 22-month high of 5.8 per cent last month.

"March activity data suggests that China's economy slowed, especially in household consumption," Tommy Wu, lead China economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note.

'Worse to come' 

China's government is trying to balance "minimising disruption against controlling the latest wave of COVID infections", Wu said, but he warned of a drag on economic activity into May or beyond.

Last week, carmakers including XPeng and Volkswagen warned of severe disruptions to supply chains and possibly even a halt on production completely if the lockdown on Shanghai's 25 million inhabitants persisted.

Already, goods are piling up at the world's busiest container port in Shanghai, prompting shipping giant Maersk to say it will stop taking new bookings for refrigerated containers into the city.

"Further impacts from lockdowns are imminent," said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

As Shanghai struggles to rein in an outbreak that has seen tens of thousands of daily cases, Pang said other cities may attempt to replicate Shenzhen's success in reopening swiftly by resorting to strict measures with just a few COVID patients.

The southern tech powerhouse went into full lockdown for almost a week in March, but has since eased restrictions.

Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics cautioned that "the worst is still to come".

Fu of the NBS warned of high commodity prices on Monday with the Russia-Ukraine conflict leading to a decline in the availability of commodities such as corn and wheat.

Although China's central bank has announced a reserve ratio cut, lowering the amount of cash banks must hold in a push to support small businesses, experts say officials were taking a restrained approach to stimulus.

But economists expect officials will eventually publish a growth figure consistent with official targets, as part of doubts that the numbers may be massaged for political reasons.