20/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | MAY 20, 2026

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India raises fuel prices, second hike in a week

US drugs site TrumpRx to list 600 generics amid price push

NEW YORK: Meta detailed its layoff plans for this week in a memo shared with employees on Monday, saying cuts to its workforce globally would be accompanied by a fresh round of organisational changes aimed at improving the company’s AI workflows. The Facebook owner is planning to lay off 10% of its employees on today, with additional deep cuts slated to come later this year, Reuters reported previously. In the memo, which was seen by Reuters, Meta chief people officer Janelle Gale told employees the company plans to move 7,000 employees to new initiatives related to AI workflows and to eliminate managerial roles. In addition, “many leaders will announce org changes,“ she said. The changes are part of a far reaching overhaul planned at Meta WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that TrumpRx.gov, a government-backed website that lists discounted prescription drugs, will begin featuring generic medicines, including widely used drugs such as cholesterol treatment atorvastatin and diabetes drug metformin. More than 600 generics will be available through the website, Trump said, part of an effort by the administration to expand access to lower-cost medicines. TrumpRx, launched in January, is part of Trump’s most-favoured nation pricing deals with drugmakers aimed at lowering prescription drug costs to levels seen in other developed nations. It initially only featured branded medicines. The site does not sell drugs directly but rather sends patients to other sites to buy the medicines. More than 90% of medicines sold in the US are generics, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. “I’m thrilled to announce that we’re increasing the number of drugs available on TrumpRx by nearly seven times, adding over 600 affordable generics to the website,“

some of its key markets. Asia-Pacific banks may need to raise loan-loss provisions further if the Iran conflict drags on, as higher energy costs and weaker growth strain borrowers, analysts have said. StanChart, which focuses on the Asia-Pacific and Africa, set aside US$190 million in precautionary provisions linked to the Middle East conflict in the first quarter. “We are extremely resilient,“ Winters said when asked about the impact of geopolitical and market risks on its ability to reach the targets. On Monday, the lender named Manus Costello, investor relations head and equity research veteran, as its permanent CFO, succeeding Diego De Giorgi, who resigned in February after nearly three years with the bank. – Reuters this year, as the company surges its AI investments in a bid to centre AI agents in both its product offerings and its approach to work internally. They reflect a broader pattern of AI linked job cuts among major US companies this year, particularly in the tech sector. In total, the layoffs and transfers will hit about 20% of the company’s workforce. Some of the transfers have already happened, while in other cases employees will be notified today, Gale said in her memo. Employees in North America were told to work from home today. Meta has also closed an additional 6,000 open roles as part of the process, she told employees in an earlier memo. Headcount at the social media giant was 77,986 employees at the end of March, according to company filings. – Reuters Trump said at a White House event, attended by billionaire Mark Cuban. Cuban sells discounted medicines directly to consumers through his Cost Plus Drugs online pharmacy. The generics and their prices will be listed separately from discounts on high-cost branded drugs, the White House said. Prices at local pharmacies and discounts from Amazon Pharmacy, Cost Plus Drugs, and GoodRx will be integrated into TrumpRx. Controlled substances and drugs with FDA-mandated restrictions known as risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, or REMS, will not be available on the website, nor will drugs not commonly sold directly to consumers. Trump secured agreements with 17 major pharmaceutical companies to align US prescription prices with those in other developed nations in exchange for three-year tariff exemptions on imports. While Trump has pledged to make prescription drugs cheaper for Americans than anywhere in the world, prices on the website are not lower than those paid in the UK, according to a Reuters comparison of publicly available prices. – Reuters

Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, which together control more than 90% of a network of 103,000 fuel stations, tend to set prices in tandem. The state-run suppliers raised petrol and diesel prices on Friday by 3 rupees a litre, the country’s first price increase in four years. Dealers and analysts said they expected a staggered increase in prices, similar to April 2022 during the Covid pandemic. Opposition parties said the government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had postponed price increases to try to win votes in recent state elections. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won two of the four states, expanding its political influence. Modi has urged people to limit their travel to conserve fuel and curb buying gold. – Reuters

are deregulated in India, the government exerts significant influence on prices as the majority shareholder of the key retail companies. Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the oil ministry, said on Monday the state fuel retailers have been losing 7.5 billion rupees daily. The government has no plans to provide financial support for them, Sharma said. Sources at refiners said more price hikes are needed to recoup the losses. The fuel retailers did not respond to Reuters’ emails seeking comment. India is the world’s third-largest importer and consumer of oil and was one of the last major economies to raise retail fuel prices after the US Israeli war on Iran triggered a surge in prices globally. State-run Indian Oil Corp,

o State-run retailers reportedly lose 7.5b rupees daily as crude costs remain elevated India state-fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices by less than a rupee per litre yesterday, the second increase in a week to recover some losses from high crude prices resulting from the Iran war. After the rise of roughly 0.9 rupees (RM0.037), consumers will pay 98.64 rupees for a litre of petrol in New Delhi and 91.58 rupees for a litre of diesel, dealers said. Prices vary across the country because of regional taxes. Although petrol and diesel prices NEW DELHI:

Meta outlines details of layoff plans in memo to employees

An Indian Oil petrol station in India. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is one of India’s largest state-owned oil and gas companies, operating fuel stations across the country. – UNSPLASH PIX

Standard Chartered to cut over 7,000 jobs amid AI drive HONG KONG: Standard Chartered (StanChart) plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it boosts adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) while targeting growth. by automation and adoption of artificial intelligence as some staff reskill. And banks globally are scrambling to integrate frontier AI models and fend off rising cyber threats. StanChart seeks to quell market speculation about succession planning after Winters’ 11-year stint at the helm, with the bank saying he will be around for the next few years to see through the latest strategy.

The most affected roles will be with the bank’s back-office centres including those in Chennai, Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur and Warsaw, according to Winters. “Of course we’re using AI along the way and AI will be a huge facilitator and enabler of that,“ he added, referring to its ongoing revamp to automate more of its core banking system. StanChart said it would deliver over 15% return on tangible equity (ROTE) in 2028, more than three percentage points higher than in 2025, and building to about 18% in 2030, well above the estimates of some analysts. The update also comes as

“It’s not cost-cutting. It’s replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we’re putting in,“ he said. The cuts, alongside higher shareholder return targets announced in a strategy update, come as StanChart is at the tail-end of a decade-long effort to transform itself from a potential takeover target to a steadily profitable lender. The bank’s Hong Kong-listed shares gained 2.5% in morning trade, against a flat benchmark Hang Seng. StanChart’s move to streamline operations and rein in costs comes as more global firms slash jobs by deploying AI to improve efficiency.

StanChart is underpinning its new target by keeping its focus on higher margin businesses, including affluent retail clients and financial institutions within its corporate and investment banking division. Notably the bank pulled forward a goal of attracting US$200 billion (RM765 billion) of net new money to 2028, from the previously set 2029. In the first quarter, the bank reported both its highest wealth revenue and new client money. StanChart is seeking to deliver stronger growth even as geopolitical uncertainty clouds the outlook for

The London-headquartered lender is one of the first major global banks to lay out official plans to cut thousands of jobs, citing AI as a driver to make its operations slimmer as it seeks to increase its profitability and tackle competition. StanChart said yesterday it would cut 15% of its corporate function roles by 2030, which, according to a Reuters calculation, would result in more than 7,000 redundancies out of its more than 52,000 staff in such roles. The lender has a total global staff of nearly 82,000 and CEO Bill Winters told reporters the reduction will be driven