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☆ Charlie Munger's last big call was probably right: AI is overhyped
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Charlie Munger, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 99, had a last big call on AI: it's overhyped. It was counterintuitive, but his last big call could be right: AI is overhyped. Google has now rolled the lab in with another AI division, Google Brain, and no longer explicitly breaks out financials. AI has still to prove out its caseFinally, there's the big question of whether the technology will deliver on its big promises. OpenAI's Altman and other AI CEOs talk very publicly about AI as smart as humans being on the horizon.

Persons: Charlie Munger, —, Warren Buffett, Munger, ChatGPT, OpenAI's, Sam Altman, Altman, There's, OpenAI's Altman, Michael Chabon Organizations: Service, Apple, Costco, Oracle, Microsoft, Ferrari, British, Tobacco, Dell, Google, DeepMind Locations: Berkshire, Omaha, Silicon Valley

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

☆ These 'magic seven' global stocks pay a 7.8% dividend yield on average, Berenberg says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors searching for income in today's volatile markets may want to look at the "magic seven" U.K. stocks identified by Berenberg. "The U.K. equity market is cheap," Berenberg analysts Jonathan Stubbs and Leoni Externest said in a note to clients on Oct. 13. "The median U.K. dividend yield is back to 3.6% and close to the highs of last year (3.8%)." Berenberg's analysis shows dividend yields above 4.5% have resulted in median returns near 30% for Rio Tinto, with a more-than-90% success rate. Aviva The insurer's 7.8% dividend yield has rebounded from below 2% during Covid-19.

Persons: Berenberg, Jonathan Stubbs, Leoni Externest Organizations: Tobacco, Rio Tinto, Aviva, Legal, General, British Locations: London, Rio, British, U.S, Germany, Rio Tinto

☆ Big Tobacco turns to rooibos tea to counter upcoming ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Emma Rumney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Tobacco companies have yet to publish any research showing the health implications of rooibos or other zero-tobacco sticks, Simonavicius added. PMI (PM.N) CEO Jacek Olczak told shareholders that its zero-tobacco sticks could avoid the regulatory scrutiny that tobacco products face. BAT's zero-tobacco sticks are not subject to current EU tobacco rules, the company told Reuters. That means it can sell rooibos sticks in flavours like peppermint and tropical fruit even after a ban on flavoured heated tobacco products is implemented across the bloc later this month. Across the European Union, heated tobacco products must be taxed at a minimum of 20% of the retail price, though national governments can go higher.

Persons: Erikas Simonavicius, Simonavicius, Philip Morris, Jacek Olczak, Jefferies, Owen Bennett, Bennett, Phil Gorham, Gorham, Fabienne, Morningstar's Gorham, Shabab, Emma Rumney, Matt Scuffham, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Big Tobacco, British American Tobacco, Union, Tobacco, BAT, Reuters, King's College, King's College London . Tobacco, Philip Morris International, PMI, Rivals Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, Morningstar, EU, Dunhill, Lucky, European Union, University College London . Tobacco, Thomson Locations: Cape, Germany, Greece, King's College London

☆ Imperial Brands sticks by forecast, announces $1.3 bln share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman poses with a cigarette in front of Imperial Brands logo in this illustration taken July 26, 2022. The company also announced a share buyback of 1.1 billion pounds ($1.34 billion). Rival British American Tobacco (BATS.L) has lost more than 24% of its share value. In recent years, Imperial Brands has focused on its top five markets and expanding next-generation products deemed less harmful to health. ($1 = 0.8230 pounds)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Krishna Chandra Eluri and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, buyback, Hargreaves, Derren Nathan, Winston, blu vapes, Richard Hunter, Eva Mathews, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Michael Perry Organizations: Imperial Brands, REUTERS, FTSE, British American Tobacco, Interactive, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Britain proposes ban on cigarettes for younger generations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smoking costs Britain's health services 17 billion pounds ($20.6 billion) a year, he said, adding the government also needed to act on youth vaping. Campaign group Action on Smoking and Health welcomed Sunak's plans, adding they could hasten the day when smoking was obsolete. Imperial Brands (IMB.L), which makes Winston cigarettes and Golden Virginia rolling tobacco, also warned the ban threatened "unintended consequences". REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGRADUAL IMPACTThe smoking policy would need to pass a free vote in Britain's parliament. Shares in Imperial Brands fell 3.2% to their lowest since March 2022, while shares in BAT, which has a lower exposure to the British cigarette market, were down 1.2% by 1357 GMT.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak's, Winston, Phil Noble, Owen Bennett, Bennett, Emma Rumney, Michael Holden, Sachin Ravikumar, Alex Richardson Organizations: Conservative Party, Health, Tobacco Manufacturers Association, Imperial Brands, Dunhill, British, Tobacco, REUTERS, Japan Tobacco, Benson, Hedges, Jefferies, BAT, Thomson Locations: MANCHESTER, England, Virginia, Liverpool, Britain's, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Denmark

Its cost was estimated at 33 billion pounds in 2011, but has soared to more than 100 billion pounds ($122 billion) by some estimates. Sunak said Conservative lawmakers would be given a free vote in Parliament on the smoking ban. He used the speech to give party members and voters a glimpse of the man behind his technocratic exterior. Home Secretary Suella Braverman used her conference speech to appeal to the party’s authoritarian, law-and-order wing, advocating tougher curbs on migration and a war on human rights protections and “woke” social values. “I am confident we can win,” said Balwinder Dhillon, deputy mayor of the town of Slough, west of London.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, he's, ”, ” Sunak, Andy Burnham, ” “, Rain Newton, Smith, “, Margaret Thatcher —, Liz Truss, Akshata Murty, Suella Braverman, Balwinder Dhillon Organizations: Conservative Party, Labour Party, Leeds, Conservative, Manchester, of British Industry, Health, New, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, London Stock Exchange, Treasury, United, British Locations: MANCHESTER, England, Manchester, London, “, Birmingham, Midlands, North, Britain, Britain’s, New Zealand, Rwanda, United Kingdom, Slough

☆ BofA reveals the global stocks that tend to outperform when the U.S. dollar rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. dollar index hit its highest level since March earlier this month, while its 50-day moving average is showing signs of surpassing its 200-day counterpart. European stocks to benefit Bank of America's screen captures European companies that would "tend to outperform" when the U.S. dollar index rises. They also had a "significant and positive slope from regression [against] the U.S. dollar index." "Over the past five years, Low Risk stocks, Energy and Norway have tended to outperform the most when the DXY index has been rising," she added. Elsewhere Dutch media house Wolters Kluwer , Italian energy player Tenaris and Finnish telecommunication services provider Nokia also appeared on the screen.

Persons: BofA's Paulina Strzelinska, Strzelinska, Wolters, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: U.S, Bank of America, The U.S, Bank, Energy, Bank of, Tobacco, Diageo, BP, Bayer, Roche, Wolters Kluwer, Nokia Locations: The, Europe, Norway, Novozymes, Denmark, Qiagen, Germany, Switzerland

☆ British American Tobacco finalizes Russia exit with sale to local managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

British American Tobacco has finalized its exit from Russia about 18 months after it pledged to do so in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. However, other global tobacco giants are still doing business in the country, including Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International . London-based BAT is a key player in the global tobacco market with business operations in more than 100 countries. It controlled nearly 25% of Russia's tobacco market, which is the fourth largest in the world, according to Reuters. The buyer is a consortium led by members of BAT Russia's management team, which will wholly own the Russian and Belarusian businesses, BAT said.

Persons: Philip Morris Organizations: British, Tobacco, BAT, Japan Tobacco International, Philip, Philip Morris International . London, Camel, Reuters, BAT Russia's, ITMS Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Newport, Russian

☆ British American Tobacco clinches a deal to sell its Russian business
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —British American Tobacco has struck an agreement to sell its businesses in Russia and Belarus, the company announced Thursday, more than 18 months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine sparked a mass exodus of Western firms from Russia. BAT (BTI) said in a statement that it had entered into a formal sales agreement with a consortium led by members of the management team of its Russian operations. In February, the company said its 2022 results had been dented by a £612 million ($764 million) charge related to its Russian and Belarusian businesses. BAT's London offices seen in January 2021 Toby Melville/ReutersBAT’s Russian and Belarusian businesses account for about 2.7% of its revenue. Dutch beer maker Heineken announced its departure from the country last month, saying it had sold its Russian business for a symbolic €1 ($1).

Persons: —, Toby Melville, Dolf van den Brink Organizations: London CNN, British, Tobacco, BAT, Reuters, Russian, Heineken, . Locations: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, London

☆ Tobacco firm BAT sells Russian business to local management
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A woman poses with a cigarette in front of BAT (British American Tobacco) logo in this illustration taken July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco (BATS.L) said on Thursday it entered into a deal to sell its Russian and Belarusian businesses to a consortium led by members of BAT Russia's management team. The company controlled just under 25% of the Russian tobacco market at the time. BAT, which had previously been in talks with its local distributor over a sale, said it had now formally entered into an agreement to sell the business to a consortium led by its local management team, in compliance with local and international laws. The company took a 957 million pound impairment related to the transfer of its Russian business in July 2022.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Emma Rumney, Yadarisa, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: BAT, British, Tobacco, REUTERS, American Tobacco, BAT Russia's, Lucky, European, Thomson Locations: Russia, United States, European Union, Ukraine, Belarus, London

☆ Banks to fuel boom in UK Plc regular dividend payouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The estimate from financial services company Computershare is 2.7 billion pounds higher than its April forecast and reflects improved profit prospects across the rate-sensitive industry. Computershare's latest quarterly Dividend Monitor showed bank payouts rose 61% on an underlying basis to around 7.8 billion pounds in the second quarter. The sector is set to raise headline payouts by over 3 billion pounds this year. That estimate is 1 billion pounds more than what it forecast three months ago. In the second quarter, UK dividends rose 3.5% on an underlying basis, but fell 9% to 32.8 billion pounds on a headline basis, it said.

Persons: Computershare, Rio, Danilo Masoni, Amanda Cooper, David Evans Organizations: MILAN, HSBC, Bank of England, Rio Tinto, Tobacco, Thomson

☆ UK's FTSE 100 slips on dour earnings; NatWest falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) lost 0.2%, while the more domestically focussed FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) was flat. UK earnings season picked up pace with Lloyds Banking Group(LLOY.L), Britain's biggest mortgage lender, posting a pre-tax first-half profit below analysts' forecast compiled by the bank. The lender fell 2.7%, while the UK banks index (.FTNMX301010) slipped 0.9%. Rolls-Royce (RR.L) soared 19.3%, to hit its highest level in over three years after the aero-engineering company raised its full-year operating profit forecast. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng and Sohini GoswamiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Royce, Aston Martin, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Georgina Cooper, Aston, Shashwat Chauhan, Eileen Soreng, Sohini Organizations: HY, U.S, Fed, Lloyds, NatWest, NatWest Group, BBC, Lloyds Banking Group, BNY, Equity, Rio Tinto, Royce, Dunhill, Tobacco, Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings, U.S . Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Rio Tinto, London, Rio, Bengaluru

☆ Lightning Round: AMD is 'okay' just not as 'fabulous' as the market thought it was, says Jim Cramer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLightning Round: AMD is 'okay' just not as 'fabulous' as the market thought it was, says Jim Cramer'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer weighs in on stocks including: BWX Technologies, British American Tobacco, Snap, AMD, Crown Castle, Myriad Genetics, Iron Mountain, Philip Morris and Meta.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Philip Morris Organizations: AMD, BWX Technologies, British, Tobacco, Crown, Myriad Genetics, Meta

☆ Cramer's Lightning Round: "Not a fan" of Snap
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon BWX Technologies' year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon British American Tobacco's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Snap's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Myriad Genetics' year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Meta's year-to-date stock performance.

Persons: I've, Philip Morris, It's, I'm, it's, Jim Cramer's Organizations: Technologies, BWX Technologies, Tobacco, Devices, Nvidia, Myriad Genetics, Myriad

☆ Andrew Tate Indicted on Charges of Human Trafficking in Romania
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Andrew Tate, an antagonistic online personality known for his misogyny, has been indicted in Romania on charges including human trafficking and forming an organized criminal group related to the abuse of women, prosecutors there said in a statement on Tuesday. Mr. Tate, 36, a British American former kickboxer, had been living in Romania and was arrested there in December last year along with his younger brother, Tristan Tate, and two Romanian women. They were initially held in a Bucharest jail. The four have been under house arrest since April as investigations continued into the charges that were laid against them after they were arrested, which included a rape charge against one suspect as well as human trafficking and forming an organized criminal group. With the indictment, they will now face a trial in a Bucharest court, thought it was unclear when that would take place.

Persons: Andrew Tate, Tate, Tristan Tate Locations: Romania, British American, Bucharest

☆ Who wants to be a CEO right now?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Let's be real: Being a CEO sucks right now. But 2023 has brought a level of scrutiny that makes being a CEO today a nightmare for even the toughest leader. CNN's former chief Chris Licht stepped down on Wednesday after less than a year, following intense criticism from inside and outside his newsroom. Meme stock company GameStop fired its CEO Matthew Furlong on the same day as Licht, also after a short tenure. At the low point of a boom-and-bust cycle where high interest rates and high expectations reign supreme, being a CEO sucks.

Persons: Let's, CNN's Chris Licht, —, Jack Welch, CNN's, Chris Licht, Licht, Matthew Furlong, Jeff Shell, Jack Bowles, Patience, Matt Turner, Raul Vargas Organizations: Corporate, Service, General Electric, Observers, GameStop, Google, Farmers Group Locations: freefall, British

Guardia Civil/Handout via REUTERSMADRID, June 1 (Reuters) - Spanish police raided three clandestine tobacco factories early this year, seizing nearly 40 million euros ($44 million) worth of tobacco leaf and illicit cigarettes. This operation is one of dozens across the EU that regional policing and anti-fraud agencies say have driven seizures of illicit cigarettes to record levels. It may have been further accelerated by the war in Ukraine, which for years has been a production hub and transit route for illicit tobacco, OLAF added. TOBACCO INVESTIGATORSThe industry has responded by hiring investigators to research illicit operations and share intelligence with European authorities, executives at Japan Tobacco, BAT and Imperial Brands told Reuters. "A good many workers from Ukraine have been found in these illegal factories," Japan Tobacco's Byrne said about counterfeiting operations across the EU.

Persons: who'd, OLAF, Cyrille Olive, Philip Morris, Olive, Europol, Vincent Byrne, Byrne, Japan Tobacco's Winston, Alex McDonald, Ernesto Bianchi, McDonald, Japan Tobacco's Byrne, They're, they're, Richa Naidu, Emma Pinedo, Emilio Parodi, Matt Scuffham Organizations: Guardia Civil, REUTERS, Spanish, EU, BAT, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco, Philip Morris International, Reuters, Marlboro, America's Dunhill, Supplies, Investigators, Mobile, Thomson Locations: Seville, Spain, Guardia, REUTERS MADRID, Alfaro, Europe, Ukraine, British American, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Ireland, Japan, China, Asia, EU, Russia, Belarus, Roda de Ter, Barcelona, Spanish, Italy, Pomezia, Russian, Moldovan, London, Madrid, Milan

☆ A Brief Guide to Martin Amis’s Books
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( The New York Times Books Staff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many readers consider this the best of Amis’s early novels. He’s a lout, he’s a slob, he’s a mess — and he is enormously fine company on the page. “The book’s dash and heft and twang serve a deeper energy," our reviewer, Veronica Geng, wrote. Our reviewer, Bette Pesetsky, called “London Fields” “a picaresque novel rich in its effects,” a “virtuoso depiction of a wild and lustful society. Friendly, readers learn, is the latest of the man’s pseudonyms: Years earlier, he was a Nazi doctor who escaped Europe for the United States.

☆ FTSE 100 edges up as consumer stocks offset Vodafone slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.1%May 16 (Reuters) - UK's main stock index edged up on Tuesday as weakness in the sterling supported some internationally-focused consumer firms, although Vodafone slumped after it forecast a big drop in fresh cash flow. The telecom giant's stock (VOD.L) fell 4% to become the top decliner on the FTSE 100 (.FTSE) after the company announced job cuts and forecast a 1.5 billion euro ($1.65 billion) decline in free cash flow this year. However, the blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.2% and the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) added 0.1%. The currency's weakness lifted shares of dollar earners like Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) and British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L). Industrial metals miners (.FTNMX551020) slipped 0.2%, tracking easing copper prices on investor worries of patchy economic recovery in top consumer China.

☆ BAT names finance director Marroco as CEO as Bowles bows out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 15 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco (BATS.L) appointed finance director Tadeu Marroco as CEO on Monday, succeeding Jack Bowles who is stepping down after about four years. Marroco has been with the tobacco firm since 1992 and was appointed to the board in 2019. "Having been at the centre of the formulation of this strategy, I am convinced that this is the right strategic path for BAT," Marroco said in a statement. Director Javed Iqbal will be interim finance director while the group looks for a permanent replacement for Marroco, the company said. Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sanction hit tars BAT’s US listing hopes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - British American Tobacco (BATS.L) could have trouble getting more American love. The $635 million settlement plus interest may be less of a financial spoil for the $82 billion giant. Still, investors including Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners, had hoped BAT could move its listing to the United States to close a yawning valuation gap. The reputational stain from its fine, however, raises the risk that if it were to move stateside, U.S. investors may still apply a discount. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ British American Tobacco Is Fined $635 Million for Selling Cigarettes to North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

British American Tobacco has agreed to pay more than $635 million as a penalty for selling cigarettes to North Korea through an intermediary in Singapore, in violation of American sanctions. A small portion of the amount, about $5 million, was part of a civil settlement with the Treasury Department. The rest, obtained and announced by the Justice Department on Tuesday, was the biggest in that department’s history related to sanctions on North Korea. North Korean clients paid that intermediary, which was not identified in the filing, at least $415 million through front companies over about a decade, in some cases using American banks, according to the court documents. The operation relied on “financial facilitators linked to North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction proliferation network,” Brian E. Nelson, the Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement issued by the Justice Department.

☆ Tobacco Company BAT Pleads Guilty to Violating U.S. Sanctions on North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sadie Gurman | Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

British American Tobacco PLC said it had abandoned its North Korean business, but continued selling tobacco to the regime using a front company, officials said. Photo: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—A U.K. tobacco company agreed to pay more than $635 million to resolve charges that it conspired to violate U.S. sanctions by selling cigarettes to North Korea in what Justice Department officials described as a brazen scheme to conceal illicit business by routing it through a third-party company in Singapore. The settlement payment was the largest penalty ever levied on a company for violating U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang. The company, British American Tobacco PLC, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors over illegal sales that took place over more than a decade, even after the company announced that it had abandoned its North Korean business, U.S. officials said. But BAT, which makes Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Pall Mall cigarettes, continued selling tobacco products to the isolated regime through a Singaporean front company.

☆ Tobacco companies pay over $600 million to settle alleged sanctions violations with North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Two tobacco companies have agreed to pay over $600 million to US authorities over allegations that the companies were selling tobacco products to North Korea in violation of US sanctions. Separately, the Justice Department charged a North Korean banker and two Chinese nationals with helping to facilitate tobacco sales in North Korea, according to court documents. BATMS and the North Korean Tobacco Company — owned by the North Korean Government — created a joint enterprise in 2001 to manufacture BAT cigarettes within North Korea for domestic sale, according to the Justice Department. That arrangement continued past 2009, when the US Treasury Department placed additional sanctions on North Korean banks. According to court documents, North Korea would use Chinese companies to process payments between the country and a front company of BATMS to obfuscate the payments.

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