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☆ Exclusive-Google to Launch Anti-Misinformation Campaign Ahead of EU Elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Martin CoulterLONDON (Reuters) - Google is preparing to launch an anti-misinformation campaign across five countries in the European Union (EU), the company told Reuters ahead of the bloc's parliamentary elections and tougher new rules tackling online content. France, Poland and Germany accused Russia on Monday of putting together an elaborate network of websites to spread pro-Russian propaganda. Jigsaw's ads will be translated into all 24 official EU languages, the company said. The campaign will run for at least one month, with a view to extend it based on reach and performance. Results from the campaign, including survey responses and the number of people reached, are expected to be published in summer 2024.

Persons: Martin Coulter, Jigsaw, We've, Beth Goldberg, Goldberg, Matt Scuffham, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Martin Coulter LONDON, Google, European Union, Russia, Europe's Digital Services, YouTube, Universities of Cambridge Locations: France, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Europe, Bristol, Ukraine

Even including the sale of Heathrow, this year is the slowest for airport transactions in the past decade, totalling $5.9 billion globally to date, according to Dealogic data. They have hired Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) and Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) to find a buyer for a sale of their 49% stake in the company, the people said. Heathrow's sale valued the airport at 14.3 times EBITDA, according to JP Morgan analysis published on Wednesday. UK's Esken (ESKN.L), owner of regional Southend Airport, said in June it had started a process for the sale of the airport. On Thursday, Hungary's state-owned Corvinus and Vinci Airports notified the European Commission of a proposed joint takeover of Budapest's airport, according to a document posted on the EU website.

Persons: Andras Kranicz, GIP, Australia's Macquarie, Spain's, Ferrovial, Agata Lyznik, Mediobanca, Gianni, Origoni, Nico Torrisi, Morgan, UK's, France's Vinci, Vinci, Corvinus, Emma, Victoria Farr, Andres Gonzalez, Elisa Anzolin, Joanna Plucinska, Mathieu Rosemain, Anousha Sakoui, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: LONDON, Heathrow, BNP, Global Infrastructure Partners, AGS Airports, Southampton, Australia's, International, ACI, Airports, Macquarie, Credit Agricole Assurance, 2i, Credit, SAC, Gatwick, Southend Airport, Global Infrastructure Fund, Vinci Airports, European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: Edinburgh, Italy, FRANKFURT, Spanish, Europe, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Heathrow, France, Hungary's, Budapest's

☆ GSK CEO says RSV vaccine revenue to top 1 bln pounds in first year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Michele Gershberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

GSK had previously forecast 2023 sales for Arexvy between 900 million pounds and 1 billion pounds ($1.26 billion) following a strong U.S. launch. "We’re delighted with the start of our RSV vaccine," Walmsley said in a Reuters Newsmaker interview. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Arexvy for adults aged 60 years or older in May and GSK launched the vaccine in the U.S. later in the year. GSK made close to two-thirds of RSV doses given in the United States since early September, according to IQVIA data earlier this month. On Tuesday, rival Pfizer (PFE.N) said it was disappointed in the performance of its RSV shot Abrysvo compared with GSK.

Persons: Walmsley, GSK's, Emma Walmsley, We’re, David Denton, AstraZeneca's, commercialise Johnson, Ludwig Burger, Michael Erman, Josephine Mason, Kirsten Donovan, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: GSK, Reuters, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Pfizer, U.S, Thomson Locations: British, U.S, Europe, Japan, United States

☆ Microsoft's $3.2 bln UK investment to drive AI growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Microsoft President Brad Smith attend the AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes, Britain, November 2, 2023. Britain, where the economy is forecast to be sluggish in the coming years, is pushing for private investment to help fund new infrastructure, particularly in growth industries like AI. "Today's announcement is a turning point for the future of AI infrastructure and development in the UK," Sunak said in a statement on Thursday. Since then, the UK regulator waved through a restructured version of Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard , putting Britain back in Microsoft's favour. The investment includes a training plan to help ensure Britons have the skills they need to build and work with AI, it added.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Brad Smith, Toby Melville, Sunak, Microsoft's, Smith, Jeremy Hunt, Sarah Young, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Britain's, Microsoft, REUTERS, U.S ., Activision Blizzard, Thomson Locations: Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, Britain, Microsoft's, London

☆ Julius Baer declines to confirm Signa exposure
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Julius Baer's Chief Executive declined to confirm on Wednesday whether the private bank's 606 million Swiss franc ($693 million) exposure it disclosed earlier this week is to toppled property giant Signa. The CEO said it was too early to say what specific lessons could be learned relating to the large exposure in its private debt business. Troubled property group Signa, which owns scores of high-profile projects and department stores, declared insolvency on Wednesday. Signa, controlled by an Austrian magnate, has borrowed heavily from banks including Julius Baer, which on Monday disclosed it had an exposure of more than 600 million Swiss francs, the largest in its private debt loan book, to a European conglomerate. "I believe Julius Baer will be able to continue its risk appetite and its risk capacity as we have on average in the last few years."

Persons: Julius Baer's, Philipp Rickenbacher, Julius Baer, Rickenbacher, Noele Illien, Elaine Hardcastle, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Financial Times, Global Banking, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Austrian

☆ Ark Investments sets 0.80% fee for proposed spot bitcoin ETF
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Suzanne Mcgee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Since 2021, the SEC has rejected multiple applications to issue spot bitcoin ETFs, arguing that the cryptocurrency market is vulnerable to manipulation. In August, a federal court ruled that the SEC wrongly rejected Grayscale Investments' application to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. SEC chair Gary Gensler said last month that the SEC is evaluating as many as 10 spot bitcoin ETF proposals. The average fee levied on U.S. ETFs currently hovers around 0.54%, but Ark's proposed fee of 0.80% is significantly lower than the 2% that Grayscale currently charges investors on its spot bitcoin trust. If the SEC does approve some or all of the pending spot bitcoin ETF applications in early January, industry participants and analysts expect a fierce battle for market share to follow.

Persons: Cathie Wood, 21Shares, Gary Gensler, Ark's, It's, Suzanne McGee, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: ARK Investment Management, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: Swiss

Vacuum maker Dyson has in recent years tied up with eBay UK to sell officially refurbished products at a hefty discount to the price of new ones. Some 23% of consumers globally say they are buying more second-hand products, according to the EY Future Consumer Index, a survey of 22,000 consumers published earlier this month. "I found a waistcoat for my dad in a charity shop in Peckham the other day – I saw it and I thought I have to get it, he's going to love it," Baker said as she browsed in a Crisis charity shop in Camberwell, south-east London. In the fourth quarter of last year, sales in UK charity shops grew by 8.6% compared the previous year, according to the Charity Retail Association. Lesley Wright, a volunteer at an Oxfam shop in Brighton, England, is gearing up for her "busiest-ever" holiday season.

Persons: Eve Williams, Dyson, Lorna Fallon, Lucy Baker, Baker, Lesley Wright, Wright, Richa Naidu, Helen Reid, Matt Scuffham, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: eBay Inc, Oxfam, Apple, eBay, Dyson, Regent, Sustainability, Charity Retail Association, Reuters, Thomson Locations: British, London, Peckham, Camberwell, Brighton , England

Enel, hitherto the world's biggest listed renewables developer, plans 35.8 billion euros ($39 billion) of gross capital expenditure in its plan to 2026, of which nearly 19 billion euros will help to modernise and make its networks more resilient. Shares in the state-controlled power group were down 0.4% at 1530 GMT paring a 1% initial loss on the Milan bourse and underperforming a nearly flat blue-chip index. Rising indebtedness was one of the reasons why the Italian government, which is the single biggest shareholder in Enel, decided to oust the group's previous CEO, Francesco Starace. New CEO Flavio Cattaneo pledged to spend only the cash generated by the business, without increasing the debt pile. The group will devote some 3 billion euros to actively manage its customer portfolio through bundled offers, which will include different commodities and services.

Persons: Antonio Parrinello, Enel, Francesco Starace, Flavio Cattaneo, Cattaneo, Stefano De Angelis, Starace, Francesca Landini, Giancarlo Navach, Keith Weir, Giulia Segreti, Elaine Hardcastle, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Milan bourse, Thomson Locations: Catania, Italy, MILAN, Milan, Enel

☆ Spain's watchdog clears Amazon, Booking.com, Tripadvisor over fake reviews
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves, France, October 6, 2021 REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 22 (Reuters) - Spain's anti-trust watchdog on Wednesday cleared Amazon (AMZN.O), Booking Holdings (BKNG.O) and Tripadvisor (TRIP.O) of participating in or facilitating fake reviews on their websites. CNMC, as the watchdog is known had been looking into a complaint lodged by a local association defending consumers. "CNMC found no indication that the platforms have participated in or facilitated the publication of these false opinions," it said in a statement, adding that the companies invested in detecting fake reviews and collaborated with ongoing investigations. The watchdog has, however, detected possible signs of a violation of consumer protection regulations, and therefore sent the complaint to the consumer rights authority. An Amazon spokesperson said his company is acting against fake reviews on its websites.

Persons: Pascal, CNMC, Tripadvisor, Maria Luiza Amaral, Inti Landauro, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Booking Holdings, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Boves, France

NatWest Group bank logo and decreasing stock graph are seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. "I will explore options for a NatWest retail share offer in the next 12 months subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money," Hunt said on Wednesday. NatWest shares dipped on Hunt's comments and were last down 1.1% at 204.7 pence, compared with a 0.2% fall in the FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index. The stock is the worst performing FTSE 100 British bank stock this year, down more than a fifth, according to Eikon data. That investment turned sour for many and shares in the renamed holding company International Distributions Service (IDSI.L) are now worth 25% less than its 330 pence offer price.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Sid, Alasdair Haynes, Nigel Farage, Alison Rose, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, David Milliken, Sarah Young, William James, Elaine Hardcastle, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: NatWest Group, REUTERS, Companies, NatWest, Aquis, Royal Mail, Distributions Service, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson

One-litre bottles of extra-virgin olive oil are selling for as much as 14.5 euros ($15.77) in some supermarkets, propelling olive oil into the category of products retailers fit with security tags, alongside spirits, cosmetics and appliances. "Olive oil has become an ideal product for them to steal." STC, a Spanish company providing anti-theft solutions to retailers, saw a 12-fold increase in orders this summer from supermarkets for devices to protect olive oil bottles, managing partner Salvador Canones told Reuters. Spanish police have also uncovered thefts of olive oil from mills and in October arrested two people as part of an investigation into the theft of 56 tonnes of extra virgin olive oil. Among the world's biggest consumers of olive oil, they have already significantly cut back: sales volumes of extra-virgin olive oil fell by 17% in the 12 months to September, according to NielsenIQ.

Persons: Jon Nazca, Ruben Navarro, Navarro, Tu, " Navarro, Salvador Canones, Corina Rodriguez, Helen Reid, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Tu, STC, Reuters, Spanish, Thomson Locations: Olive, Malaga, Spain, Rights MADRID, Spain's Andalucia, Carrefour, Madrid, Spanish

☆ Environmental groups urge funding halt for TotalEnergies' Mozambique project
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Wendell Roelf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TotalEnergies signs are seen at a petrol station in Nice, France, October 10, 2022. The letter, seen by Reuters, comes at a crucial juncture for the French energy company as it prepares to relaunch Africa's largest foreign direct investment project. Activists warn the project may worsen climate change and fuel human rights abuses in the impoverished southern African nation. TotalEnergies said before Friday's letter that arrangements for project finance remain in place despite a 'force majeure' halt in 2021 when Islamist militants threatened the project site. The project delay has led some investors to reassess their previous cost assumptions in light of inflation and global gas market swings.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Banks, TotalEnergies, Ntshengedzeni Maphula, Reta Jo Lewis, Wendell Roelf, Toby Sterling, Nellie Peyton, Forrest Crellin, Mathieu Rosemain, Yuka Obayashi, Tim Cocks, Olivia Kumwenda, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, ActionAid International, Greenpeace, African Development Bank, Societe Generale, Africa's Export Credit Insurance Corporation, Thomson Locations: Nice, France, Mozambique, Greenpeace France, Netherlands, U.S, Exim, Cape Town, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Paris, Tokyo

☆ Sweden plans new nuclear reactors by 2035, will share costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Simon Johnson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

By 2045 the government wants to have the equivalent of 10 new reactors, some of which are likely to be small modular reactors (SMRs), smaller than conventional reactors. Energy Minister Ebba Busch said the government was planning a "massive build out" of new nuclear power by 2045. "It's decisive for the green transition, for Swedish jobs and at heart for the welfare of our citizens," she told reporters. Countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, and Britain are looking at expanding nuclear power as societies transition to a fossil-fuel free future. Sweden voted to get rid of nuclear power in 1980, and has only six of an original 12 reactors still in production.

Persons: Tom Little, Ebba Busch, Elisabeth Svantesson, Busch, Finland's, Germany's Uniper, Simon Johnson, Chizu Nomiyama, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Rights, Energy, EDF, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Stockholm, Sweden, Rights STOCKHOLM, Poland, Czech Republic, Britain

☆ Global dividends slide in Q3 as miners drag
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Global dividends fell 0.9% to $421.9 billion in the third quarter due to lower special dividends and a small number of corporations making large cuts to investor remuneration, a report showed on Wednesday. Janus said total dividends were slightly better than expected in the quarter despite lower one-off special payouts and exchange rate effects. "Special dividends have decreased, reflecting less M&A activity and the disappearance of windfall profits in sectors like mining," he added. The largest cuts to payouts were made by Brazilian oil group Petrobras (PETR4.SA) and Australian miner BHP (BHP.AX). More than half of mining companies reduced their payouts while 89% of companies overall raised their dividends or held them during the period, the report said.

Persons: Janus Henderson, Janus, Ben Lofthouse, Banks, Danilo Masoni, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: MILAN, Petrobras, PETR4, BHP, Chemicals, China Construction Bank Corp, China Mobile, HK, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Taiwan, Czech, Asia, PetroChina, Europe

☆ Morning Bid: Powell pushback puts cloud 9 beyond reach
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell answers a question during a press conference following a closed two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2023. Curiously, there was little change in that basic market pricing after Powell spoke - with end-2024 futures still pointing at a rate of 4.50-4.75% versus the current 5.25-5.50%. But the Treasury market did suffer a bigger jolt - as they were also undermined by poor demand at the latest long bond auction. But others pointed to a ransomware attack on the U.S. arm of The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which reportedly disrupted trades in the Treasury market on Thursday. Whatever the main cause, fresh bond market jitters were enough to knock the S&P500 out of its winning streak and close almost 1% lower.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Kevin Lamarque, Mike Dolan, Jerome Powell's pushback, Powell's, Powell, 5bps, Sterling, Janet Yellen, Lorie Logan, Raphael Bostic, Christine Lagarde, Joachim Nagel, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Federal, Committee, Federal Reserve, REUTERS, Veterans, Commercial Bank of China, Treasury, University of Michigan, Dallas Federal, Atlanta Fed, European Central Bank, Financial Affairs, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, United States, HK, Washington, Beijing, Atlanta

☆ Lloyd's of London to invest $65 million following slavery report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Carolyn Cohn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Signage is seen inside the Lloyd's of London building in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, April 16, 2019. The 335-year old insurance market apologised in 2020 for its role in the 18th and 19th century slave trade. The Lloyd's market is made up of nearly 50,000 people, and Lloyd's wants one in three new hires to come from ethnic minorities. Historians estimate between one and two-thirds of the British marine insurance market was based on the slave trade in the 18th century. The research also showed that Joseph Marryat, Lloyd's of London chairman from 1811 to 1824, had enslaved people, White added.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Lloyd's, We've, Bruce Carnegie, Brown, Alexandre White, Joseph Marryat, White, Garba, Carolyn Cohn, Sinead Cruise, Jan Harvey, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, London, Black, Johns Hopkins University, Mellon Foundation, Reuters, Central Fund, African Development Bank, Inter, American Development Bank, UN, Equity, of, United Nations, European Union, U.S, Thomson Locations: London, City, Britain, Liverpool, Lloyd’s

Logos of Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS are seen before a news conference in Zurich Switzerland, August 30, 2023. The state-engineered merger led to a wipeout of $17 billion of Credit Suisse's AT1 bonds. "Their structure is very new and shows they listened to investors who were angry about the permanent write-down feature," said Jerome Legras, head of research at Axiom Alternative Investments, who held Credit Suisse AT1 bonds before the March banking crisis. The Credit Suisse AT1s wipeout spurned a number of claims against Switzerland's financial regulator FINMA, which inverted the long-established seniority of bondholders over shareholders over the assets of a company in distress. That dented sentiment in the key market for bank bonds and prompted regulators in Europe and Asia to reassure investors.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Jerome Legras, Joost Beaumont, March's writedown, Noele Illien, Dhara Ranasinghe, Elaine Hardcastle, Alexander Smith Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, REUTERS, CS, AT1s, ZURICH, P Global, Suisse, ABN AMRO, Singapore, Thomson Locations: Zurich Switzerland, Swiss, Switzerland's, Europe, Asia

☆ Adyen lowers mid-term sales target, aims to slow hiring
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Adyen logo is seen at the reception desk of the company's headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands August 24, 2018. "Overall targets are lowered from previous targets and while likely more realistic, they still look ambitious," Jefferies analysts said in a note. Adyen added it would aim to improve its core profit (EBITDA) margin to above 50% in 2026. This year so far, Adyen has lost about half its market value which currently stands at 21.58 billion euros. It said it would slow down hiring, and that it hired 175 full-time employees over the quarter, which was "substantially below" Jefferies' expectations.

Persons: Eva Plevier, Adyen, France's, Jefferies, Olivier Sorgho, Piotr Lipinski, Elaine Hardcastle, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Netflix, Spotify, Jefferies, New, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, New York, U.S

REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Signals sharp downturn in demandTo review share buyback program for 2024Says industry facing overcapacity and lower prices, demandShares down more than 10% to lowest in three yearsCOPENHAGEN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), reported a steep drop in third-quarter profit and revenue on Friday and said it would cut at least 10,000 jobs in the face of overcapacity, rising costs and weaker prices. Shares in the Copenhagen-based group slid 11.1% by 0904 GMT, to their lowest level in three years. The group already warned in August of a steeper decline in global demand for shipping containers by sea this year. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik, Miral Fahmy, Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jon Nazca, Moller, Vincent Clerc, Morten Holm Enggaard, Maersk, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Louise Rasmussen, Terje Solsvik, Miral Fahmy, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Triple, Majestic, APM, REUTERS, Shipping, Maersk, Walmart, Nike, Jyske Bank, Thomson Locations: Algeciras, Spain, COPENHAGEN, Copenhagen

A worker cleans a BMW i7 xDrive60 elecric car while it is charging at a BMW dealership in Sandton, South Africa, October 27, 2023. "We have no interest in sinking prices to gain market share. In a statement, BMW made no mention of high interest rates or inflation weighing on growth, in contrast to competitors such as Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) and Porsche (P911_p.DE). Fully electric sales hit 15.1% of total sales in the third quarter, outstripping BMW's end-year target of 15%. Models from the upper price segment, like the 7 Series, the updated BMW X7, and the BMW X5 and BMW X6 models, are also driving sales growth.

Persons: Siphiwe, Oliver Zipse, That's, Walter Mertl, Victoria Waldersee, Christina Amann, Elaine Hardcastle, Mark Potter Organizations: BMW, REUTERS, JV, LSEG, Mercedes, Benz, Porsche, BMW X5, Thomson Locations: Sandton, South Africa, BERLIN, China

[1/2] Containers are seen on the Maersk's Triple-E giant container ship Majestic Maersk, one of the world's largest container ships, next to cranes at the APM Terminals in the port of Algeciras, Spain January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Signals sharp downturn in demandTo review share buyback program for 2024Says industry facing overcapacity and lower prices, demandShares down 17.5% to lowest in three yearsCOPENHAGEN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), reported a steep drop in third-quarter profit and revenue on Friday and said it would cut at least 10,000 jobs in the face of overcapacity, rising costs and weaker prices, sending its shares tumbling. The industry invested heavily in new container ships during and after the pandemic to meet strong demand and benefit from record freight rates. A large number of new ships entered the market since the summer with no signs of idling or scrapping, said Clerc.

Persons: Jon Nazca, Moller, Vincent Clerc, Clerc, Morten Holm Enggaard, Maersk, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Louise Rasmussen, Johannes Birkebaek, Terje Solsvik, Miral Fahmy, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Triple, Majestic, APM, REUTERS, Shipping, Maersk, Walmart, Nike, Jyske Bank, Revenues, Thomson Locations: Algeciras, Spain, COPENHAGEN, North America, Copenhagen

☆ In diamond centre Antwerp, Russian gems are already shunned
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Julia Payne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Cut diamonds are seen at the diamond exchange in Antwerp, as the G7 weighs a ban on Russian diamond imports to reduce revenues for Moscow's war in Ukraine, Antwerp, Belgium, October 30, 2023. Other diamond firms in Antwerp, the world's biggest centre of trade in rough diamonds and cutting of the biggest gems, were asked to avoid Russian stones. Now, Western powers want to make the boycott official with a formal ban on Russian stones. Imports of Russian rough diamonds are now at less than 5% of pre-war levels, the source said. Most proposals under consideration by the G7 now focus on rough diamonds of 1 carat and above initially.

Persons: Johanna Geron, Thierry Tugendhaft, Van Cleef, Tugendhaft, De Beers, It's, Julia Payne, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European, World Diamond Council, EU, Thomson Locations: Antwerp, Ukraine, Belgium, Rights ANTWERP, Russia, Paris, Tiffany's, Cartier, Canada, Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, India, United States, Japan, European Union, France, Antwerp . New

[1/2] Graphite powder, used for battery paste, is pictured in a Volkswagen pilot line for battery cell production in Salzgitter, Germany, May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 20 (Reuters) - As China moved to control some exports of key battery mineral graphite on Friday, miners elsewhere face a race against time to bring new projects to fruition to secure supplies for the next generation of electric vehicles. To stay ahead in a fast-changing industry, carmakers have been investing directly in mining projects to ensure future supplies of the battery inputs. "We see China's move as a potential catalyst to highlight the urgency of improving domestic graphite supply," said John DeMaio, president of Graphex's graphene division. "We've aligned ourselves with several graphite miners outside of China.

Persons: Fabian Bimmer, Hugues Jacquemin, China's, John DeMaio, DeMaio, Stefan Bernstein, Graphite's Jacquemin, Shishir Poddar, Nelson Banya, Clara Denina, Divya Rajagopal, Ernest Scheyder, Veronica Brown, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Volkswagen, REUTERS, Graphex, HK, EV, GreenRoc, Thomson Locations: Salzgitter, Germany, China, Warren , Michigan, Greenland, Northern, Tirupati, Madagascar, Mozambique

☆ Morning Bid: Bond squeeze abates as Middle East war in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A street sign for Wall Street hangs in front of the New York Stock Exchange May 8, 2013. Dallas Fed cheif Lorie Logan added overnight that recent data and bond yield moves gave the central bank space. Reactions in the market were curious, however, with implied Fed policy rates in the futures market and two-year Treasury yields easing back even as 10-year yields chomped at the 5% bit. The resulting further disinversion of the yield curve to show the gap between two and 10-year yields at its lowest in a year is some testament to that. But with another nervous weekend around the Israel-Gaza war ahead, when markets are closed or illiquid, Friday trading has shifted the focus back to short-term safety hedges.

Persons: Lucas Jackson, Mike Dolan, Jerome Powell's, Powell, Lorie Logan, Huntington, Loretta Mester, Patrick Harker, Joe Biden, Charles Michel, Ursula von der Leyen, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Atlanta Federal, Dallas Fed, Bank of Japan, L'Oreal, American Express, Interpublic, Schlumberger, Cleveland Federal, Philadelphia Fed, European Council, European Commission Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, Israel, Gaza, Europe, China, Comerica, Huntington Bancshares, Washington

☆ Merck KGaA raises prospect of return to sales growth next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A logo of drugs and chemicals group Merck KGaA is pictured in Darmstadt, Germany January 28, 2016. The market for semiconductor materials sold by the company's Electronics division, should "recover incrementally in 2024", Merck added. The company reaffirmed that sales would be broadly flat this year, at between 20.5 billion euros ($21.6 billion) and 21.9 billion euros, compared with 22.2 billion last year. The outlook for adjusted core earnings of 5.8 billion to 6.4 billion euros this year, down from 6.85 billion in 2022, was also confirmed. Higher interest rates have dampened investor appetite for risky biotech drug ventures, compounding a decline in coronavirus-related activities.

Persons: Ralph Orlowski, Belen Garijo, Morgan, Merck, JP Morgan, Garijo, Ludwig Burger, Rachel More, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Merck, REUTERS, company's Electronics, Lonza, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Darmstadt, Germany, FRANKFURT, coronavirus, Swiss

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