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☆ Swiss prosecutor investigates Credit Suisse takeover, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 2 (Reuters) - Switzerland’s Federal Prosecutor has opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) by UBS Group (UBSG.S), the Financial Times reported on Sunday. There were “numerous aspects of events around Credit Suisse” that warranted investigation and which needed to be analysed to “identify any crimes that could fall within the competence of the [prosecutor]”, the report added. Switzerland's federal prosecutor and Credit Suisse did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Last month, UBS acquired rival Credit Suisse in a deal worth 3 billion Swiss Francs ($3.3 billion). ($1 = 0.9148 Swiss francs)Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swiss prosecutor probes Credit Suisse takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies UBS agreed to acquire Credit Suisse last monthDeal orchestrated by Swiss authoritiesPoll shows Swiss economists disagree with dealGENEVA, April 2 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Federal Prosecutor has opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) by UBS Group (UBSG.S), the office of the attorney general said on Sunday. Credit Suisse and UBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Last month, UBS said it would acquire rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion) in a deal orchestrated by the Swiss government, the central bank and market regulator. A poll of Swiss economists found that nearly half think the takeover of Credit Suisse was not the best solution, and warned that the situation had dented Switzerland's reputation as a banking centre. Up to 30% of staff could lose their jobs due to the takeover, according to an unnamed senior UBS manager quoted in Swiss media.

☆ BlackRock says not participating in any Credit Suisse takeover plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 18 (Reuters) - BlackRock (BLK.N) said on Saturday it had no plans or interest in acquiring embattled Swiss lender Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), a spokesperson for the U.S. asset manager told Reuters. "BlackRock is not participating in any plans to acquire all or any part of Credit Suisse, and has no interest in doing so," the spokesperson said. The Financial Times reported earlier that BlackRock was working on a rival bid for Credit Suisse aiming to counter a plan for UBS AG (UBSG.S) to acquire the struggling bank. The U.S. investment giant is evaluating a number of options and working with other investors, the report said citing people briefed about the matter. Reuters earlier reported that Credit Suisse was weighing up its survival options and was under pressure from regulators to pursue a deal with UBS.

☆ WHO, advisors urge China to release all COVID-related data after new research
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Access to the information was subsequently restricted “apparently to allow further data updates” by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WHO officials discussed the matter with Chinese colleagues, who explained that the new data were intended to be used to update a preprint study from 2022. "We continue to call on China to be transparent in sharing data, and to conduct the necessary investigations and share the results," he said. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was shut down by Chinese authorities after the novel coronavirus emerged in the city in late 2019. The market has since been a focus of study of whether the virus had infected several other species before jumping to humans.

☆ UBS seeks Swiss backstop in any Credit Suisse deal - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 18 (Reuters) - UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) is asking the Swiss government for a backstop if it were to buy Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. UBS is discussing scenarios in which the government would take on certain legal costs or other specific losses in any deal, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Under one likely scenario, the deal would involve UBS acquiring Credit Suisse to obtain its wealth and asset management units, while possibly divesting the investment banking division, the report added. UBS Group and Credit Suisse did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reuters reported earlier that Credit Suisse is weighing several survival options as regulators urge the investment bank to pursue a deal with UBS.

☆ Adani in talks for $400 mln debt against Australian coal port assets - ET
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - India's Adani Group is in talks with global credit funds to raise up to $400 million in debt against a key Australian coal port assets that make up a large portion of its exports of the fossil fuel from Carmichael mine, the Economic Times reported. Adani Group and Farallon Capital did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. Reuters recently reported Australia's corporate regulator said it would review a short-seller report that had flagged a wide range of concerns about the Adani Group. In Australia, the conglomerate operates the Carmichael coal mine and a related rail line, the North Queensland Export Terminal, which is a major port for Queensland coal exports, as well as a solar farm. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Northern Irish police arrest sixth man over shooting of detective
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A police officer stands guard at the Youth Sport Omagh sports complex on Killyclogher Road, where off-duty PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot, in Omagh, Northern Ireland February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Lorraine O'SullivanFeb 25 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland police arrested a sixth man on Saturday in connection with the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell. A 71-year-old man was detained in Omagh under the Terrorism Act and was taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite to be questioned by detectives, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said in a statement. loadingFive men aged 22, 38, 43, 45 and 47 arrested earlier in connection with the attack remain in police custody. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tesla driver dies after fire truck crash in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - A Tesla driver in California died early on Saturday after crashing into a fire truck on an interstate highway, the fire department said. U.S. regulators are investigating Tesla vehicles with the Autopilot driver assistance system over a string of crashes with parked emergency vehicles. loadingThe department said the truck had been blocking lanes of I-680 after a previous accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday its investigation, opened in 2021, "into Tesla’s Autopilot and associated vehicle systems remains open and active." It is reviewing whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure drivers are paying attention.

☆ One killed, three wounded in Texas mall shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - (This Feb. 15 story has been refiled to delete an extraneous quote in paragraph 2)One person was killed and three were wounded on Wednesday in a shooting at an El Paso, Texas, shopping mall, police said. A police spokesman, Robert Gomez, told reporters one suspect was in custody, but media reports said a second person was also taken into custody following the shooting at Texas' Cielo Vista Mall. [1/4] Shoppers leave as law enforcement members respond to a shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall, in El Paso, Texas, U.S February 15,2023. This is a large scene as it being a mall, so it's going to take time," Gomez said, adding he had no information on the condition of the wounded. The Cielo Vista mall is next to the Walmart store where a gunman killed 23 people on Aug. 3, 2019.

☆ Apple faces obstacles in move to boost India manufacturing - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is facing challenges as it tries to increase production in India, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the iPhone maker's operations. This 50% 'yield' does not meet Apple's goal for zero defects, FT reported, adding that the company's process of expanding in India has been slow in part due to challenges in logistics, tariffs and infrastructure. Apple and Tata Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Apple has bet big on India since it began iPhone assembly in the country in 2017 through Wistron Corp (3231.TW) and later Foxconn, in line with the Indian government's push for local manufacturing. Last month, India's trade minister said that Apple wants India to account for up to 25% of its production from about 5 - 7% currently.

☆ UK regulator probes Barclays over anti-money laundering systems -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A branch of Barclays Bank is seen, in London, Britain, February 23, 2022. REUTERS/Peter NichollsFeb 10 (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator is investigating Barclays Plc (BARC.L) for suspected failings in its compliance and anti-money laundering systems, the Financial Times said on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ DCG sells shares in Grayscale crypto trusts in push to raise funds - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, February 14, 2018. The reported move comes as DCG is trying to raise funds to support its collapsed lending units under Genesis. DCG has also moved to sell smaller blocks of shares in its Litecoin Trust, Bitcoin Cash Trust, Ethereum Classic Trust and Digital Large Cap Fund, the report added. DCG and Grayscale did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. DCG, owned by Barry Silbert, owns a portfolio of crypto companies in addition to Genesis, including crypto news and events site CoinDesk and New York-based Grayscale, a major digital asset manager.

☆ Microsoft Outlook back up for most users after outage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Outlook was back up for most users, the company said on Tuesday, after an hours-long outage disrupted the email service application for users primarily in North America. The company said it had identified a recent change that might have caused issues within Outlook.com, without giving further details. The outage comes shortly after Microsoft's cloud platform, Azure, faced disruptions, taking down services such as Teams and Microsoft 365 used by millions around the globe. Many users took to Twitter to share updates and memes about the service disruption, with #Microsoft365 trending as a hashtag on the social media site. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Maria Ponnezhath; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft investigates Outlook outage as users face issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said it was investigating issues with email service Outlook as users in North America faced problems with accessing, sending or searching emails on the platform. There were more than 2,000 incidents of people reporting issues with Outlook late Tuesday at about 23:10 ET, according to Downdetector.com, which tracks outages by collating status reports from sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform. "Users primarily hosted in the North American region attempting to access Outlook.com may be unable to send, receive, or search email. Additional functionality such as Calendar consumed by other services such as Microsoft Teams would also be affected," Microsoft said in an update on its status page. A "recent change" led to the issue and the company was working to restart portions of the affected infrastructure in order to restore service, Microsoft said in a tweet.

☆ DCG sells shares in Grayscale as it seeks to raise funds - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Digital Currency Group (DCG) is selling shares in several of its cryptocurrency funds at a high discount, and has started offloading its holdings in investment vehicles run by subsidiary Grayscale, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The reported move comes as DCG is trying to raise funds to support its collapsed lending units under Genesis. DCG has also moved to sell smaller blocks of shares in its Litecoin Trust, Bitcoin Cash Trust, Ethereum Classic Trust and Digital Large Cap Fund, the report added. DCG and Grayscale did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EY selects Australian battery group as preferred bidder for Britishvolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Accounting firm EY on Monday said it selected Scale Facilitation Partners and its Australian subsidiary Recharge Industries as the preferred bidder to buy struggling UK startup Britishvolt out of administration. EY's restructuring arm EY-Parthenon were appointed administrators of Britishvolt in January after the company struggled to raise funds for a major electric vehicle battery factory in northern England and stay afloat. The deal was expected to be completed within the next seven days, EY said in a statement on Monday. Britishvolt, Recharge Industries and Scale Facilitation did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Britishvolt has been in talks with a consortium of investors about selling a majority stake in the company, the company said earlier this month, without disclosing any names.

[1/2] A smartphone with the Stripe logo is placed on a laptop in this illustration taken on July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoJan 26 (Reuters) - Digital payments firm Stripe has hired Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and JP Morgan (JPM.N) to explore a public listing and alternatives to allow employees to cash out stakes in the private company, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Either possibility would address the problem that some employee share options are coming up for expiry but Stripe shares are not currently listed. Many companies backed by venture capital that would normally be regarded as mature enough for public listing have postponed such plans, hoping for higher valuations when the market recovers. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Thursday that Stripe had approached investors to raise at least $2 billion at a valuation of $55 billion to $60 billion.

☆ (OFFICIAL) FBI says N. Korea-related hacker group behind U.S. crypto firm heist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

On Jan. 13, North Korean cyber actors used a privacy protocol called Railgun to launder over $60 million worth of ethereum stolen during the theft in June, the FBI said in a statement. A portion of the stolen ethereum was subsequently sent to several virtual asset providers and converted to bitcoin, the FBI said. The FBI said North Korea's theft and laundering of virtual currency is used to support its ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs. Reuters in June reported that North Korean hackers were most likely behind the attack on Harmony, citing three digital investigative firms. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FBI says N. Korea-related hacker groups behind U.S. crypto firm heist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Two hacker groups associated with North Korea, the Lazarus Group and APT38, were responsible for the theft last June of $100 million from U.S. crypto firm Harmony's Horizon bridge, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday. The FBI said North Korea's theft and laundering of virtual currency is used to support its ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs. Reuters in June reported that North Korean hackers were most likely behind the attack on Harmony, citing three digital investigative firms. Harmony develops blockchains for decentralized finance - peer-to-peer sites that offer loans and other services without traditional gatekeepers such as banks - and non-fungible tokens. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Activist investor Elliott Management takes stake in Salesforce -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Management Corp has made a multi-billion dollar investment in cloud-based software firm Salesforce Inc (CRM.N), according to people familiar with the matter. It is unclear what Elliott, one of the world's most prominent activist investors, is pushing for at Salesforce. "We look forward to working constructively with Salesforce to realize the value befitting a company of its stature," Jesse Cohn, managing partner at Elliott told Reuters. Salesforce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment and Elliott declined to comment. It recently won a board seat at Pinterest Inc when the company added Elliott portfolio manager Marc Steinberg as a director.

☆ Activist investor Elliott Management takes stake in Salesforce -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Management Corp has made a multi-billion dollar investment in cloud-based software firm Salesforce Inc (CRM.N), the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. "We look forward to working constructively with Salesforce to realize the value befitting a company of its stature," Jesse Cohn, managing partner at Elliott told the newspaper, adding that Elliott has followed Salesforce for nearly two decades. Elliott Management Corp and Salesforce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Earlier this year Salesforce Inc said it plans to cut jobs by 10% and close some offices after rapid pandemic hiring left it with a bloated workforce amid an economic slowdown. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's National Grid to pay people to use less power amid cold snap
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Phil NobleCompanies National Grid PLC FollowLONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Britain's National Grid (NG.L) said it would pay customers to use less power on Monday evening and that it had asked for three coal-powered generators to be warmed up in case they are needed as the country faces a snap of cold weather. The group said that it would activate a new scheme called the Demand Flexibility Service where customers get incentives if they agree to use less power during crunch periods. "This does not mean electricity supplies are at risk and people should not be worried," the National Grid said. The announcement about the coal-powered generators did not mean they would definitely be used, it said in a separate statement. Coal-powered generators were last put on stand-by in December when temperatures dropped and demand for energy rose, but they were not needed on that occasion.

☆ Factbox: More than 800,000 without power in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - More than 800,000 homes and businesses were without power in the eastern half of the United States and Texas as winter storms battered much of the country, according to data from PowerOutage.us. U.S. utilities were working to restore power after the storms moved on from their service territories but some were still dealing with high winds. The greatest numbers of outages were in New England in the northeast, with 248,162 customers without power in Maine, followed by New Hampshire, New York, Virginia and North Carolina. Nearly half of the 50 U.S. states counted more than 10,000 customers with outages due to the storms. The utility with the most outages was Central Maine Power with 188,861 customers without power.

☆ Elon Musk restores Twitter accounts of journalists but concerns persist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Dec 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk reinstated the Twitter accounts of several journalists that were suspended for a day over a controversy on publishing public data about the billionaire's plane. A Twitter poll that Musk conducted later also showed that a majority of the respondents wanted the accounts restored immediately. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now," Musk said in a tweet on Saturday. A Reuters check showed the suspended accounts, which included journalists from the New York Times, CNN and the Washington Post, have been reinstated. Musk accused the journalists of posting his real-time location, saying it amounted to providing "basically assassination coordinates" for his family.

☆ TuSimple plans to layoff half its workforce next week - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] TuSimple truck-trailers are parked at their facility at AllianceTexas, a 27,000 acre business complex boasting some of the country’s largest freight operations, in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Cooper NeillDec 16 (Reuters) - Self driving trucking company TuSimple Holdings Inc (TSP.O) plans to potentially cut half of its workforce next week, WSJ reported. The job cut would likely affect at least 700 employees, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. During November, TuSimple reinstated its former CEO Cheng Lu and removed four independent directors and appointed co-founder and major shareholder Mo Chen as executive chairman of the board. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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