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"If this solution hadn't worked, Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) would have failed, with extreme consequences for Switzerland but also the global economy," he told a press conference. The SNB Chairman said it was vital for UBS's takeover of the 167-year-old Credit Suisse to go through as smoothly as possible in order to maintain financial stability. [1/2] The Swiss National Bank (SNB) building is seen near the Limmat river in Zurich, Switzerland March 23, 2023. The Bank of England is expected to increase its interest rate by a quarter percentage point later on Thursday. "Without today's policy rate increase, the inflation forecast would be even higher over the medium term," the central bank said.

☆ Swiss National Bank raises rates, says bank crisis stopped
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Swiss National Bank (SNB) building is seen near the Limmat river in Zurich, Switzerland March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseZURICH, March 23 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on Thursday and declared that measures to support Credit Suisse had "put a halt to the crisis". The rates increase was the SNB's fourth hike in succession as the central bank maintained its fight against Swiss inflation, which remains stubbornly outside the SNB's target band of 0%-2%. The Bank of England is expected to increase its interest rate by a quarter percentage point later on Thursday. "Without today's policy rate increase, the inflation forecast would be even higher over the medium term," the central bank said.

☆ UBS to take over Credit Suisse, assume up to 5 billion Swiss francs in losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BERN, March 19 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) agreed to buy rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) in stock and agreed to assume up to 5 billion francs ($5.4 billion) in losses, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities to avoid more market-shaking turmoil in global banking. The deal includes 100 billion Swiss francs ($108 billion) in liquidity assistance for UBS and Credit Suisse from the Swiss central bank. In that eventuality, UBS would assume the first 5 billion francs, the federal government the next 9 billion francs, and UBS would assume any further losses, the government said. Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 shares with a nominal value of around 16 billion francs ($17.2 billion) will be written down completely after the Swiss government provided support for UBS' takeover of Credit Suisse, FINMA said. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe Swiss government said that it was also giving UBS a guarantee of 9 billion Swiss francs "assume potential losses" from assets as part of the transaction.

☆ German producer prices rise more than expected in February
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - German producer prices rose more than expected in February, though the rate of increase eased for the fifth month in a row, signalling that inflation in Europe's largest economy could be starting to wane, according to data released on Monday. Producer prices of industrial products were up 15.8% on the same month last year, the Federal Statistical Office reported, compared with analysts' expectations for the rate of increase to ease to 14.5%. Compared to January, prices fell 0.3%. Apart from energy costs, which were up 27.6% year-on-year, producer prices also rose on the back of price increases for consumer goods, intermediate goods, consumer durables and capital goods, the office said. Reporting by Friederike Heine, Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UBS's Credit Suisse deal was the best solution says Swiss gov't
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Keller-Sutter, who said she held a Credit Suisse bank account, said the worst case had been avoided. This is a commercial solution because UBS is taking over Credit Suisse," she told a press conference in Bern. "The bankruptcy of Credit Suisse would have had a huge collateral damage - on the Swiss financial market also internationally," she said. He said it was far too early to discuss job cuts at Credit Suisse, but he was very positive about Credit Suisse's Swiss business. His upbeat tone contrasted with Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann, who was emotional when he spoke about the demise of 167-year-old Credit Suisse as an independent bank.

☆ UBS chairman wants to keep Credit Suisse's Swiss unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ZURICH, March 19 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) Chairman Colm Kelleher said the bank wants to keep Credit Suisse's Swiss unit, speaking at a news conference announcing the merger between Switzerland's two biggest banks on Sunday. "It is a fine asset that we are very determined to keep and hopefully service their customers and clients as efficiently as Credit Suisse has done," Kelleher said. The Chairman of Switzerland's biggest bank said it "will be running down the investment banking part of Credit Suisse, because UBS itself has an investment bank-like model." "We need to do this in a rational way [and] thoughtfully, when we've sat down and analysed what we need to do." Reporting by Noele Illien Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UBS to take over Credit Suisse, assume up to 5 bln Swiss francs in losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The deal includes 100 billion Swiss francs ($108 billion) in liquidity assistance for UBS and Credit Suisse from the Swiss central bank. In that eventuality, UBS would assume the first 5 billion francs, the federal government the next 9 billion francs, and UBS would assume any further losses, the government said. Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 shares with a nominal value of around 16 billion francs ($17.2 billion) will be written down completely after the Swiss government provided support for UBS' takeover of Credit Suisse, FINMA said. Authorities had been scrambling to rescue Credit Suisse, among the world's largest wealth managers, before financial markets reopened on Monday. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe Swiss government said that it was also giving UBS a guarantee of 9 billion Swiss francs "assume potential losses" from assets as part of the transaction.

[1/2] A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany March 16, 2023. The ECB has hiked rates by 350 basis points since last July, lifting its benchmark refinancing rate to 3.5% on Thursday. Wunsch said the ECB had a "long way to go" if its baseline inflation forecast materialised. Credit Suisse was dealing with "a longstanding restructuring problem", he added. Asked about the future of Credit Suisse, Wunsch said he only saw a "very low" likelihood that the bank might go bankrupt.

☆ German minister to visit Taiwan in test of China relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims. The politically sensitive visit will take place at a time when Berlin is reviewing its previously close ties with China. Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also of the FDP, will begin her visit early next week, a ministry spokesperson said. Speaking at a regular news conference in Berlin, the education ministry spokesperson said the agenda during Stark-Watzinger's visit will also include battery research and supply chains. Last year, China condemned a visit to Taiwan by then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-level U.S. visit in 25 years, as a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

☆ German corporate treasurers urged not to underestimate the current situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, March 16 (Reuters) - German corporate treasuers were urged by an industry association on Thursday not to "underestimate the current situation" as cracks in the global banking system emerge. The warning came in a blog post on Thursday from the Association of German Treasurers entitled "SVB collapse not without consequences for treasurers" asking whether this was a "Lehman 2.0" moment. "Nevertheless, treasurers should not underestimate the current situation, even if they themselves are not directly or indirectly affected by the collapse of the three U.S. banks," the association wrote. It cited a reserch report from the bank LBBW saying that a flight to quality could weaken smaller and medium-sized banks. Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BMW cautiously optimistic on 2023, EV targets ahead of schedule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A BMW SUV moves down the assembly line at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, U.S., October 19, 2022. The company said it planned to keep prices stable, after years of dealing with rising costs by passing them on to customers. "We see hydrogen-electric vehicles as a meaningful complement to e-mobility, even with something of a time lag," Zipse said. The BMW iX5 Hydrogen* test vehicle, with a range of 500 km (310 miles) and an ability to refuel in three to four minutes, was being tested in various countries, BMW said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9319 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni; editing by Paul Carrel, Bradley Perrett, Tomasz Janowski and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BMW promises stable prices, raises margin forecast for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The transition to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) was moving faster than planned and it expected to reach its target of over 50% battery-electric vehicle share well ahead of its 2030 target, the company said. It forecast that the speed of growth in BEV sales, which doubled to more than 215,000 in 2022, to slow slightly this year to a high double-digit percentage. But by 2025, one in four new sales should be battery-electric, rising to one in three by 2026, according to Wednesday's forecast - a big leap from the one in 11 ratio seen last year. Almost half of cash flow came from a cash contribution from Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive. BMW proposed a dividend to shareholders of 8.50 euros, up from 5.80 a year earlier.

☆ Novartis initiates new trading line for share buybacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Novartis said on Monday it received regulatory clearance to open a separate trading line for potentially up to 16.5 billion Swiss francs ($18.1 billion) in stock repurchases even as its ongoing $15 billion buyback programme is close to completion. At last week's annual shareholder meeting, the company won investor authorization for up to 10 billion francs in buybacks, which comes on top of 6.5 billion francs in prior authorizations. A company spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that the "majority" of its ongoing $15 billion buyback programme was already completed, adding that any repurchases would be decided by the board of directors. Novartis laid out plans for the $15 billion programme in late 2021, after receiving $20.7 billion for the sale of its nearly one-third voting stake in Roche (ROG.S) back to its cross-town rival. ($1 = 0.9118 Swiss francs)Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and John Revill in Zurich Editing by Paul Carrel and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke, however, warned that supply chain issues, geopolitical strains and rising inflation still presented a challenge for the industry. Porsche AG, historically a huge money spinner for the Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE), which owns 75% minus one ordinary share of the group, is targeting a margin of 17-19% this year with a long-term goal of 20%, it said in a statement. Porsche reported a 27.4% rise in annual operating profit to 6.8 billion euros on revenue of 37.6 billion, slightly undershooting a consensus 6.86 billion in earnings and 38.3 billion in revenue expected by 19 analysts polled by Refinitiv. The logo of German carmaker Porsche AG is seen before the company's annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, March 17, 2017. He also said the company was investing 20 billion euros in digitalisation in the next five years.

☆ Novartis launches new $11 billion share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, March 13 (Reuters) - Novartis (NOVN.S) has formally launched its new share buyback programme where it could spend up to 10 billion Swiss francs ($10.90 billion) repurchasing its shares over the next three years. Capital reductions of the registered shares repurchased under the scheme will be proposed at future AGMs, Novartis said. Shareholders approved rolling over the remaining authorisation of 6.5 billion francs for buybacks at their AGM last week. The amount was topped up to 10 billion francs in total. ($1 = 0.9162 Swiss francs)($1 = 0.9171 Swiss francs)Reporting by John Revill Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ SAP agrees to sell Qualtrics stake for $7.7 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, March 13 (Reuters) - Software group SAP (SAPG.DE) said on Monday it had agreed to sell its stake in data analytics firm Qualtrics (XM.O) for $7.7 billion as part of the acquisition of Qualtrics by funds affiliated with financial investor Silver Lake. "At a purchase price of US$18.15 in cash per share, the transaction corresponds to a Qualtrics equity value of approximately US$12.5 billion on a fully diluted basis," SAP said in a statement. "SAP's stake will be acquired for approximately US$7.7 billion," it added. Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ No departures at Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg airports as security staff strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] A person with luggage stands in an airport hall, as airport workers protest at BER airport during a strike called by German trade union Verdi, in Berlin, Germany, March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Christian MangBERLIN, March 13 (Reuters) - Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg airports said no commercial flights would take off on Monday due to a strike by trade union Verdi over pay. "Due to the warning strike by employees at the aviation security controls, no commercial departures will take place at BER today, March 13. Incoming flights may also be affected," Berlin airport said on its website. Verdi has called for security staff to strike at Berlin airport due to disputes over pay for working nights, weekends and bank holidays that had been going on for years.

Gulden said Adidas was still deciding what to do with its stock of unsold Yeezy footwear. One option could be for Adidas to donate proceeds from the sale of repurposed Yeezy stock to charity, Gulden said. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton 1 2 3The split cost Adidas 600 million euros ($632 million) in sales in the fourth quarter of 2022, and Yeezy shoes would have brought in an estimated $1.2 billion in revenue this year. Inventories came in at just under 6 billion euros at the end of December, up 49% from the previous year, including 400 million euros of Yeezy products. That, along with $200 million of one-off costs, would bring Adidas to a $700 million loss this year.

☆ Adidas CEO promises turnaround after costly Yeezy split
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Alexander Hübner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Gulden said Adidas is still deciding what to do with its stock of unsold Yeezy footwear. One option could be for Adidas to donate proceeds from the sale of repurposed Yeezy stock to charity, Gulden said. The split cost Adidas 600 million euros ($632 million) in sales in the fourth quarter of 2022, and Yeezy shoes would have brought in an estimated $1.2 billion in revenue this year. Inventories came in at just under 6 billion euros at the end of December, up 49% from the previous year, including 400 million euros of Yeezy products. In the fourth quarter of last year, currency-neutral revenue declined by 1%, taking into account a 600-million-euro loss after it stopped selling Yeezy shoes.

☆ Adidas to slash dividend after Kanye West split
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Alexander Hübner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Adidas merchandise is seen in an Adidas store on the day the German company terminated its partnership with the American rapper and designer Kanye West, now known as Ye, in Garden City, New York, U.S., October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon StapletonBERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) will slash its 2022 dividend, it said Wednesday, warning a split with rapper and fashion designer Kanye West could push it to its first annual loss in three decades this year. The company will recommend a dividend of 0.70 euros ($0.7374) per share at a May 11 annual general meeting, it said. Adidas is still dealing with the fallout from ending its partnership with West, which yielded the lucrative Yeezy sneaker line. Adidas said it is still deciding what to do with its stock of unsold Yeezy footwear.

☆ German industrial output rises more than expected in January
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - German industrial production rose significantly more than expected in January, increasing by 3.5% on the previous month, the federal statistical office said on Wednesday. The positive development "was driven in particular by strong growth in the manufacturing of electronic equipment ... and chemicals," the statistics office said. It added that motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts manufacturing, as well as pharmaceutical products manufacturing, had shown a strong negative trend. Also on Wednesday, the statistical office said that German retail sales had fallen unexpectedly in January by 0.3% in real terms compared to the previous month. Reporting by Friederike Heine Editing by Paul Carrel and Matthias WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Awaiting an IRA response, Volkswagen pauses decision on eastern Europe battery plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Volkswagen AG FollowMarch 8 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is pausing plans for a battery plant in eastern Europe and prioritising building a plant in North America where it expects to reap 9-10 billion euros ($10.54 billion) in subsidies, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The company was waiting for a response from Europe to the U.S. $369-billion Inflation Reduction Act package before moving ahead with its plans in the region, the newspaper reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Volkswagen board member Thomas Schmall posted on LinkedIn last week that Europe risked losing "the race for billions of investments that will be decided in coming months and years" to the attractive conditions offered by the IRA. The company said in October last year it planned to firmly settle on a location for the plant in the first six months of 2023. ($1 = 0.9489 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Continental net income drops 95% in 2022, sees higher margins this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - Continental's (CONG.DE) net income in 2022 fell 95.4% year-on-year to 67 million euros ($70.60 million), the autos supplier said on Wednesday, dragged down by negative special effects, higher interest rates and impairing assets related to Russia. The company, which reported in preliminary results in January that its 2022 margin was 5%, forecast a 5.5-6.5% margin for this year on higher consolidated sales of 42-45 billion euros, up from 39.4 billion last year. It incurred 3.3 billion euros in extra costs in 2022 for raw materials, semi-finished products, energy and logistics because of the impact of the war in Ukraine, coronavirus restrictions in China and the chip shortage, it said. For 2023, it expected an extra 1.7 billion in risen costs for materials, energy, logistics, wages and salaries. ($1 = 0.9490 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Departure of CEO to cost Adidas 16 million euros
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - The early departure of CEO Kasper Rorsted will cost Adidas (ADSGn.DE) nearly 16 million euros ($16.86 million), according to an annual report released on Wednesday. The Danish national, who left the German sportswear maker in November almost four years before the end of his contract, will receive a severance payment of 12 million euros. In addition, he will receive around 3.6 million euros as compensation for not joining a competitor within the next 18 months, as well as his remaining salary of around 300,000 euros for November and December. The latter totaled 14.2 million euros a year earlier. ($1 = 0.9490 euros)Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ECB's Holzmann calls for four more 50 bps rate hikes- Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should raise interest rates by 50 basis points at each of its next four meetings as inflation is proving to be stubborn, Austrian central bank chief Robert Holzmann told German business daily Handelsblatt. The ECB has raised rates by 3 percentage points since July and flagged a 50 basis point increase for March. Holzmann, an outspoken conservative - or hawk in policy terms - however said that based on current trends, he would favour 50 basis point moves in March, May, June and July. "I expect it to take a very long time for inflation to come down," Holzmann was quoted on Monday as saying. The four steps advocated by Holzmann would take the deposit rate to 4.5%, well above the 4% peak rate priced in by markets, a level no other policymaker has so far advocated in public.

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