Shell profits plunge, chip shortages and Kuaishou prepares flotation

"2020 was an extraordinary year ... We are coming out of 2020 with a stronger balance sheet, ready to accelerate our strategy and make the future of energy".

Those were the words of Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden as the Anglo-Dutch energy giant announced a 71 percent fall in profits for the year. Although analysts caution that the figures have been skewed by writedowns and energy firms have been forced to reassess their asset values amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a decreasing consumer appetite for fossil fuels.

The semiconductor shortage is continuing to cause problems for all the major auto firms . Japan's Mazda and General Motors have become the latest to warn of fewer cars coming off the production line this month.

Meanwhile, regulators in London and Brussels are to investigate the planned takeover of the UK chip designer Arm by Silicon Valley software giant Nvidia, as demand for its products booms globally.

For those still slightly baffled by the recent events on Wall Street , and what exactly activist shareholder groups have done to knock millions off the value of top hedge funds, watch our video below to find out.

And with all eyes now on the energy majors and how they intend to create a new future away from oil and gas, the latest figures are out on fossil fuel consumption in the EU. They show it could be some time yet before some member state reforms their gas-guzzling ways.

Read on for more of the day's business news.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell says full-year profit dropped 71 percent to $4.8 billion, from $16.5 billion last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the already faltering demand for oil and gas. Shell, which last September announced 9,000 job cuts worldwide, says that "significant uncertainty" in the energy market will continue to weigh on results.

Earlier this week, rivals BP and Exxon Mobil both posted similar losses, while revealing plans to refocus their production models towards greener and more renewable energy sources. In a sign of possible consolidation in the troubled sector, it has emerged that U.S. oil giants Exxon and Chevron held preliminary talks last year on a possible merger .

Revenues at the online marketplace eBay rose to $2.9 billion for the three months to the end of December 2020 , ahead of analysts' expectations. Gross trading volumes jumped by a fifth to $26.6 billion, compared with the same period in 2019, as people turned to internet shopping in lockdown. CEO Jamie Iannone said the firm "will be stronger coming out of the pandemic than going in."

General Motors says it will cut production entirely at three of its U.S. factories  next week, blaming the global semiconductor chip shortage. The car giant added that a factory in the Republic of Korea would also run at half capacity.

Mazda has also said it expects the chip shortage to affect its vehicle production from this month. The Japanese auto maker says it believes the ongoing squeeze on supplies will affect around 7,000 vehicles globally from this month. CEO Akira Marumoto has described the situation as "extremely fluid." Several other auto makers have cut production due to chip shortages including Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota and Nissan.

Shares in the software multinational Qualcomm have fallen after first-quarter revenues missed expectations . In the three months to the end of December, revenues were $8.23 billion, while sales rose year on year by 63 percent, propelled by chip demand for 5G smartphones. CEO Steve Mollenkopf has blamed supply constraints for the outlook.

EU and UK regulators are to investigate the planned $40 billion takeover by Silicon Valley software firm Nvidia of the UK chip designer Arm . Officials say serious scrutiny of the deal is warranted given the popularity of Arm's products with smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung. The investigation may take 18 months.

Deutsche Bank made a net profit of $135 million last year, above analysts' expectations and its first profit since 2014. Revenues for the year rose 32 percent to $11 billion partly due to a jump in trading at the investment banking division. Deutsche Bank has been undergoing a sweeping cost-cutting exercise  aimed at reducing the less profitable lines of its global operation and refocusing on its core European business.

Chinese home appliance giant Midea is buying a 43 percent stake in the health equipment maker Beijing Wandong Medical . The $355 million deal gives Midea a 24 percent controlling stake in the firm, best known for producing imaging equipment, diagnostic services and X-ray tube production.

Shares in the Chinese video-sharing mobile app Kuaishou Technology have surged ahead of its stock market debut in Hong Kong on Friday. The Tencent Holdings-backed short video start-up, seen as the main rival to ByteDance, has seen its shares rise 181 percent in grey market trading, putting it on course to become the second highest billion-dollar flotation on record in Hong Kong.

Shares in the Berlin-based online used-car dealer Auto1 Group SE have surged by 49 percent on their market debut , rising to almost $63 each by mid-morning. Auto1, which is backed by Japanese tech financier Softbank, reported revenues of $4.2 billion on the sale of more than 600,000 vehicles in 2019. Auto1 Group has benefited during the pandemic from the lockdown of bricks-and-mortar car showrooms according to analysts.

American Airlines says 13,000 employees are at risk of being furloughed when a U.S. aid package for airline workers runs out at the start of April. The carrier is blaming slow vaccine roll-outs and new restrictions on international travel for the continuing slump in demand for travel. Aviation unions are seeking an extra $15 billion in payroll assistance to protect jobs through the summer. A memo to staff management at American stated: "Five weeks into 2021 and, unfortunately, we find ourselves in a situation similar to much of 2020."

The CEO of social media platform Parler, John Matze, claims he has been fired by the board of the firm. Parler came to prominence during the Capitol Hill protests early last month when it became the preferred social network among supporters of former U.S. president Donald Trump, briefly becoming the most downloaded app in the U.S.. In a memo to staff, Matze claimed he had met "constant resistance to my product vision, my strong belief in free speech and my view of how the Parler site should be managed."