Morning Brief: Elon Musk loses $200 billion, China's factory activity declines, and more

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, became the first person in human history to lose $200 billion from his net worth, as per the Bloomberg Billionaire index. Amid the Covid crisis in China, the country's manufacturing activity saw a sharp decline for the third successive month, said China's National Bureau of Statistics. Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is facing a sexual assault lawsuit. Former US President Donald Trump wanted to trademark the phrase 'Rigged Election!' days after he lost the 2020 election, according to Jared Kushner's testimony to the House select committee that released a damning report earlier this month. The House Ways and Means Committee released redacted his last six years' tax returns on Friday.

Elon Musk first person in human history to lose $200 billion

After Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Musk was the second person with more than $200 billion of "personal fortune", a figure he achieved in January 2021.Elon Musk's wealth plummeted to $137 billion after Tesla shares declined in recent weeks. This includes a massive 11 per cent fall in Tesla shares on December 27.

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Musk's fortune topped at $340 billion in November 2021. Following this, he was the world's richest person for consecutive months till more than a year. He was then overtaken this month by Bernard Arnault, the French business magnate and co-founder of luxury goods powerhouse LVMH.

China's manufacturing activity plunges steeply in December amid Covid crisis

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) recorded in December 2022 was down to 47, compared to 48 recorded in the previous month. China marked the downfall for the third month in a row. China's sudden relaxation on its zero-Covid policy, followed by the rapid spread of COVID-19, has hurt the nation's overall production. The PMI is a fundamental measure in the world's second-biggest economy, and a recording below 50 indicates a downturn in factory activities. NBS obtains the PMI from a survey of large-scale and state-owned companies.

After election defeat, Donald Trump wanted to trademark the phrase ‘Rigged Election!’: House panel

The committee released a transcript of Kushner's interview where White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino wrote an email to Trump's son-in-law and former adviser, forwarding the then president's request.

“Hey Jared! POTUS wants to trademark/own rights to below, I don’t know who to see – or ask…I don’t know who to take to,” read the email by Scavino with “Save America PAC!” and “Rigged Election!” written in bold.

Aerosmith lead vocalist Steven Tyler accused of sexual assault of minor

A woman who has previously saidSteven Tylerhad an illicit sexual relationship with her when she was a teenager is now suing the Aerosmith frontman for sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.The lawsuit brought by Julia Misley was filed Tuesday under a 2019 California law that gave adult victims of childhood sexual assault a three-year window to file lawsuits for decades-old instances of assault. Saturday is the deadline to file such claims.

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