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☆ Telefonica beats with 79% jump in first-quarter net profit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTelefonica beats with 79% jump in first-quarter net profitTelefonica CFO Laura Abasolo joins CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" after the firm posted a bottom line beat for the first quarter.

Persons: Laura Abasolo Organizations: Telefonica

☆ European markets head for higher open; BoE rate decision ahead
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

European markets are heading for a higher open Thursday, maintaining positive momentum in a busy week of earnings. Ferrovial, Telefonica, EDP, Enel, Pirelli and Salvatore Ferragamo are all due to report today. Elsewhere, the Bank of England is set to publish its latest interest rate decision Thursday. China stocks rose overnight as its imports surged past estimates and exports rose in line with expectations, while the broader Asia-Pacific market was mixed. Meanwhile, futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near the flatline Wednesday evening after the 30-stock index posted its sixth consecutive winning day.

Persons: Salvatore Ferragamo, it's Organizations: Ferrovial, Telefonica, EDP, Enel, Pirelli, Bank of England, Dow Jones Locations: China, Asia, Pacific

☆ Telcos are barely done rolling out 5G networks — and they're already talking about '5.5G'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

And yet bosses of major carriers are already talking about building something called "5.5G," or "5G Advanced." Carriers in China, South Korea, the United States, and Europe, properly got underway with launches of 5G networks in 2019. 5G Advanced, or the name for the next stage of 5G, is the next evolution of mobile networks. 5G advanced — 5G standalone, that's absolutely fine. Telcos haven't yet revealed how much more a 5G Advanced data plan will cost compared with 5G.

Persons: Angel Garcia, it's, GSMAi, Milind Kulkarni, Howard Watson, 5.5G, Watson, execs, Mats Granryd, Granryd, Karen Tso, Telcos, Philip Song Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Spain — Telecom, Mobile, Congress, MWC, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, BT, Vodafone, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Apple, Apple Vision, Meta Quest, Telecommunications, 3GPP, CNBC, telco, Huawei, 5G, 5.5G Locations: BARCELONA, Spain, Barcelona, Orange, China, South Korea, United States, Europe, East, Asia Pacific, America

☆ European markets set to open higher as investors focus on euro zone data, earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

European markets are heading for a higher open Thursday ahead of a busy day of earnings and data in the region. Preliminary services and manufacturing purchasing managers' index data from the euro zone in February is due Thursday, and will serve as a gauge of business activity in the region. Meanwhile, earnings are due from Nestle, Zurich Insurance, Iberdrola, Telefonica, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce, WPP, Anglo American and Hargreaves Lansdown. Overnight, Japan's Nikkei hit a record high on Thursday, with investors shrugging off dismal business activity data from the country, while other Asia-Pacific markets traded in the green. S&P 500 futures rose in overnight trading Wednesday, boosted by a jump in Nvidia shares.

Persons: Hargreaves Lansdown, shrugging Organizations: Zurich Insurance, Iberdrola, Telefonica, Lloyds Banking Group, Royce, WPP, Nikkei, Nvidia Locations: Nestle, Asia, Pacific

☆ Four bidders approved for Colombia 5G auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Flags flutter on the facade of the Colombian Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies building in Bogota, Colombia, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Luis Jaime Acosta/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Four operators have been approved to participate in Colombia's auction to offer fifth-generation (5G) cellular data services, the communications ministry said. Telecall Colombia S.A.S., the fourth approved bidder, is a Brazilian telecoms coming looking to enter the Colombian market. The government expects to raise about $500 million via the Dec. 20 auction and join regional neighbors like Argentina and Mexico, where 5G is already available. Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Luis Jaime Acosta, Julia Symmes Cobb, Mark Porter Organizations: Colombian Ministry of Information, Communications Technologies, REUTERS, Rights, Telefonica, Telecall, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA, Claro, Telecall Colombia, Brazilian, Colombian, Argentina, Mexico

☆ EU clears up to 1.2 bln euros of aid for cloud computing
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

European flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The European Commission approved on Tuesday up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.30 billion) of state aid for a European cloud computing project to try to boost the involvement of EU business in a field dominated by U.S. companies. Those countries will provide up to 1.2 billion euros in public funding, which in turn is expected to unlock 1.4 billion euros in private investments, the European Commission said. The European cloud technology project features 19 companies, including French companies Atos (ATOS.PA) and Orange (ORAN.PA), Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) and Germany's SAP (SAPG.DE), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and Telefonica Espana (TEF.MC). The three biggest players in cloud computing are Amazon (AMZN.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Google (GOOGL.O).

Persons: Yves Herman, Didier Reynders, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Piotr Lipinski, Philip Blenkinsop, Barbara Lewis Organizations: European Commission, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Infrastructure, Services, IPCEI CIS, Union, Deutsche Telekom, SAP, Telecom Italia, Telefonica Espana, Microsoft, Google, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain

The logo of Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica is seen atop the company's building in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Telefonica told unions on Monday it was seeking to cut around 5,100 jobs in Spain by 2026 in an effort to reduce costs and adapt the company's size to the current market, a UGT union spokesperson said. The company based the decision on productivity, organization and technical reasons, the union spokesman said as Telefonica and the unions started negotiating the layoffs. In a statement Telefonica confirmed the labour "adjustment", but declined to say how many jobs it intended to axe. The company will negotiate the extent of the job cutting with the union, so that the actual cuts could be fewer than the 5,100 ones targeted by the company, UGT spokesperson Diego Gallart said.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Diego Gallart, Inti Landauro, Matteo Allievi, Jakub Olesiuk, Andrei Khalip, Jan Harvey Organizations: Telefonica, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain

New networks by Dish (DISH.O) and Japan's Rakuten (4755.T) use Open RAN. "All of the new equipment that we are going to be putting out will be Open RAN capable," Chris Sambar, president of AT&T Network, told Reuters. Winning the Open RAN deal will make Ericsson the largest supplier to AT&T as it slowly takes over Nokia's share, the company said. AT&T will still have contracts which other Open RAN vendors outside this deal. AT&T expects fully integrated Open RAN sites operating in coordination with Ericsson and Fujitsu (6702.T), starting in 2024.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Japan's Rakuten, Chris Sambar, Sambar, You've, Supantha Mukherjee, Matthew Lewis Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, Telefonica, Vodafone, RAN, AT, T Network, Reuters, Samsung, Verizon, U.S ., Fujitsu, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, ORAN, United States, Stockholm

☆ AT&T chooses Ericsson for new U.S telecom network, will drop Nokia
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

New networks by Dish and Japan's Rakuten use Open RAN. "All of the new equipment that we are going to be putting out will be Open RAN capable," Chris Sambar, president of AT&T Network, told Reuters. Winning the Open RAN deal will make Ericsson the largest supplier to AT&T as it slowly takes over Nokia's share, the company said. AT&T will still have contracts which other Open RAN vendors outside this deal. AT&T expects fully integrated Open RAN sites operating in coordination with Ericsson and Fujitsu, starting in 2024.

Persons: Chris Sambar, Sambar, You've Organizations: Ericsson, Mobile, Nokia, Huawei, Telefonica, Vodafone, Dish, RAN, AT, T Network, Reuters, Samsung, Verizon, U.S ., Fujitsu Locations: Barcelona, Spain, ORAN, United States, New York

☆ European mobile data traffic to triple by 2028 -GSMA
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The GSMA, which brings together more than 1,000 mobile phone operators and businesses, said 5G subscribers were interested in adding high-bandwidth services and content to their mobile contracts, as demand for high-quality gaming, extended reality, and video content grows. Mobile data traffic per smartphone will increase in Western Europe to 56 gigabytes (GB) per month in 2028, compared with 20 GB last year. In Central and Eastern Europe, it will rise to 37 GB per month from 14 GB in 2022, the lobby group said in its annual mobile economy report. More than 460 million Europeans, or 85% of the population, were connected to mobile internet in 2022, according to the GSMA. ($1 = 0.9168 euros)Reporting Diana Mandiá, editing by Milla Nissi and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, GSMA, We're, Daniel Pataki, Diana Mandiá, Milla Nissi, Emelia Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, Qatar, REUTERS, Telecom Italia, Big Tech, Netflix, Microsoft, European Commission, Reuters, Thomson Locations: France, Argentina, Paris, Mobile, Western Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Orange, Europe

European markets are heading for a negative open, continuing negative momentum since the start of the week. Corporate earnings continue to drive individual share price movement in Europe. Commerzbank, Credit Agricole, Marks and Spencer, Telefonica, Adidas and ABN Amro all reported Wednesday morning. Elsewhere overnight, most Asia-Pacific markets edged lower, extending declines from the previous session, while Japanese blue-chip stocks stayed afloat after a positive business sentiment survey. U.S. stock futures were flat overnight after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched their longest winning streaks in about two years.

Organizations: Credit, Telefonica, Adidas, ABN Amro, Nasdaq Locations: Europe, Spencer, Asia, Pacific

☆ Spain's state fund considers taking Telefonica stake after STC move
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Spanish Telecom company is displayed atop the company's building in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2023. Acting Economy Minister Nadia Calvino has said Madrid will carry out a thorough evaluation before approving STC's stake, while acting labour minister Yolanda Diaz has called for the transaction to be blocked. Spain's SEPI said in a stock market filing on Tuesday that it was carrying out an "exploratory internal analysis over a potential acquisition" of a stake in Telefonica. STC declined to comment on any potential plans by SEPI. Caixabank, which owns 3.5% stake of Telefonica, said last week it would not raise its stake in response to STC's move, and would analyse with Telefonica any potential cooperation with the Saudi Arabian telecoms company.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Spanish telco Caixabank, SEPI, Nadia Calvino, Yolanda Diaz, Spain's SEPI, Belen Gualda Gonzalez, Onur Genc, It's, Genc, Inti Landauro, Pietro Lombardi, Louise Heavens, Alexander Smith Organizations: Spanish Telecom, REUTERS, BBVA, Telefonica Bank, Telefonica MADRID, Telefonica, Saudi, STC, Saudi Arabia's, SEPI, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Spanish, Saudi Arabian

☆ Vodafone to sell Spanish arm to Zegona for $5.30 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) will sell its struggling Spanish business to Zegona Communications (ZEG.L) for 5 billion euros ($5.30 billion), it said on Tuesday, in the British firm's second major transaction this year. Vodafone said it would receive at least 4.1 billion euros in cash. It will also provide 900 million euros in financing in the form of preference shares redeemable no later than six years after closing. Vodafone ranks third in Spanish telecoms after Telefonica and Orange. Zegona's Chairman and CEO Eamonn O'Hare said he was "very excited" about the opportunity to return to the Spanish telecomsmarket.

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, Britain's, Della Valle, Eamonn O'Hare, Yadarisa, Paul Sandle, Subhranshu Sahu, Kate Holton Organizations: Vodafone, Zegona Communications, Vodafone's, Telefonica, British, Zegona's, Thomson Locations: British, Spain, Orange, Spanish, Telecable, Bengaluru, London

☆ Vodafone will struggle to get clean exit in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Toby Melville Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Vodafone’s (VOD.L) boss Margherita Della Valle is cleaning up the sprawling 21 billion pound telecom group, but it’s a tough job. A potentially messy exit in Spain illustrates the point. Della Valle lacks an obvious partner in the country: local giant Telefónica (TEF.MC) is too big, while rivals Orange (ORAN.PA) and MásMóvil are merging with one another. As a result, Vodafone may have found itself a potentially problematic counterparty for the Spanish business, which Della Valle has put under strategic review. Investors might be reassured that Della Valle is making things happen, but a clean break in Spain looks increasingly unlikely.

Persons: Toby Melville, Margherita Della Valle, Della Valle, Eamonn O’Hare, Expansión, Zegona, Pamela Barbaglia, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Vodafone, REUTERS, Reuters, Orange, Zegona Communications, Virgin Media, Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank, ING, Reuters Graphics Reuters, X, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Spain

☆ STC reportedly drops plan to up stake in Spain's Telefonica to 9.9%
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Spanish Telecom company is displayed atop the company's building in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2023. Telefonica and STC declined to comment on the report. In September, Saudi Arabia's largest telecoms operator amassed a 9.9% stake worth 2.1 billion euros ($2.23 billion) in a move to become Telefonica's top shareholder, though it added it did not intend to acquire control or a majority stake. STC's holding consists of 4.9% of Telefonica's shares and financial instruments that give it another 5% in so-called economic exposure to the company. As Telefonica is considered a defence service provider, the Spanish defence ministry has a say in acquisitions and holdings between 5% and 10% unless the buyer commits not to request a seat on the board.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, David Latona, Belen Carreno, Jesus Aguado, Hadeel Al, Andrei Khalip Organizations: Spanish Telecom, REUTERS, Rights, STC, Telefonica, El Economista, Saudi, Inti Landauro, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Rights MADRID, Saudi, Spanish, Hadeel Al Sayegh, Riyadh

Telefonica and Liberty Global have been working with advisers on the sale of up to half of their combined 50% stake in Cornerstone. Vodafone (VOD.L) owns the rest of the business through its Frankfurt-based subsidiary Vantage Towers (VTWRn.H). Spokespeople for Telefonica, Liberty Global, Virgin Media O2 and GLIL declined to comment. Cornerstone, established in 2012, is Britain's largest tower company, managing more than 20,000 sites, according to the company's website. In recent years infrastructure and private equity investors have competed for slices in some of the largest tower deals, including Deutsche Telekom's sale of a majority stake in GD Towers, because of their stable cash yield and long-term contracts.

Persons: Phil Noble, Amy, Jo Crowley, Andres Gonzalez, Paul Sandle, Helen Popper Our Organizations: REUTERS, Virgin Media O2, Liberty Global, Telefonica, Cornerstone, Vodafone, Deutsche, GD, Thomson Locations: Blackpool, Britain, Frankfurt

☆ Caixabank to look at how Telefonica and STC can cooperate
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Spain's Caixabank (CABK.MC), a major shareholder in Telefonica (TEF.MC), will analyse with the telecoms group any potential cooperation with STC after the Saudi telecoms firm's recent investment in Telefonica, the bank's CEO said on Friday. Caixabank has a 3.5% stake in Telefonica and a seat on its board. "Very particularly, we have to see what possibilities (Telefonica) has to cooperate with this great company, due to its size and relevance, which is STC," Gortazar said, adding Caixabank would seek to express its views on the matter at board-level discussions. As Telefonica is considered a defence service provider, Spain's Defence Ministry has a say in acquisitions and holdings between 5% and 10%, unless the buyer commits not to request a seat on the board. STC, which has yet to request authorisation from the Spanish government to exercise voting rights corresponding to the financial instruments, has said it does not intend to acquire control or a majority stake in Telefonica.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Gonzalo Gortazar, Caixabank, Gortazar, Jesús, Andrei Khalip, Mark Potter Organizations: Spanish Telecom, REUTERS, Rights, Telefonica, Saudi, STC Group, Spain's Defence Ministry, STC, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Rights MADRID, Saudi

☆ Wall Street leaders appear at Saudi conference amid conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A Saudi man's reflection is seen in mirror glass at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/ Ahmed Yosri/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsRIYADH/LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street's top financiers showed up in force at an annual financial conference in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday despite broad concerns over travel in the Middle East in the wake of an escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) David Solomon, JPMorgan's (JPM.N) Jamie Dimon and Citi's (C.N) Jane Fraser were among a group of high-profile bankers and asset managers speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. The last year has seen Saudi Arabia spend billions on companies, from sports to gaming to aviation. This year, Saudi Telecom Corp took a near 10% stake in Spain's Telefonica.

Persons: Ahmed Yosri, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, JPMorgan's, Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, Hadeel Al Sayegh, Anousha Sakoui, Amanda Cooper Organizations: Future Investment Initiative, REUTERS, Rights, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Saudi Arabia's, Hamas, Saudi Telecom Corp, Spain's Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rights RIYADH, LONDON, Israel, Davos, Swiss, Spain's

[1/3] The logo of French telecom operator Orange is pictured in Brussels, Belgium May 22, 2023. Orange and MasMovil plan to divest spectrum, a customers unit and a brand as well as offer Digi access to infrastructure, the people said. Digi has expanded rapidly in the Spanish market since it launched operations there in 2008. It had more than 5.7 million customers at the end of the first half of 2023. ($1 = 0.9440 euros)Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yves Herman, MasMovil, Orange, Foo Yun, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Orange, Regulators, European Commission, EU, Telefonica, Vodafone, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights BRUSSELS, Spain, Spanish

☆ Italy backs calls for tech firms to help fund EU telecoms networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Italy broadly supports proposals at European Union level to ensure that Big Tech firms partly finance telecoms infrastructure in the bloc, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in a statement on Tuesday. "All market players benefiting from the digital transformation must contribute fairly and proportionately to infrastructure costs," Urso said, intervening at an EU telecoms minister meeting in Leon, Spain. However, before introducing any legislation, the EU must carefully assess whether and to what extent network infrastructure is effectively overloaded by content and services generated by Big Tech firms, Urso added. Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) term it fair-share funding, while Big Tech says it amounts to an internet tax. "Italy believes the EU Commission should carry out further assessment and more time is needed to evaluate the extent of the impact of traffic generated on the network infrastructure" Urso said.

Persons: Adolfo Urso, Urso, Thierry Breton, Giuseppe Fonte, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir Organizations: European Union, Big Tech, Industry, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, France Telecom, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Italy, Leon, Spain, Orange

A Saudi man's reflection is seen in mirror glass at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 25, 2022. Geopolitical tensions heightened by the Middle East conflict pose the biggest threat to the world economy, World Bank President Ajay Banga said. The conflict could upset the stability of the Middle East just as regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia pours hundreds of billions of dollars into a vast economic transformation plan. Saudi Arabia is putting U.S.-backed plans to normalise ties with Israel on ice, two sources familiar with Riyadh's thinking said, signalling a rapid rethinking of its foreign policy priorities as war rages between Israel and Hamas. The last year has seen Saudi Arabia spend billions on companies, from sports to gaming to aviation.

Persons: Ahmed Yosri, Ajay Banga, Banga, Laurence Fink, Fink, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, JPMorgan's, Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, Ray Dalio, Dalio, Noel Quinn, Bill Winters, Barack Obama, Yasser al, Salomon, Hess, Stephen Schwarzman, Schwarzman, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden's, Richard Attias, Rosario, Amanda Cooper, Alun John, Michael Georgy, Anousha, John O'Donnell, Susan Fenton Organizations: Future Investment Initiative, REUTERS, Rights, Saudi Arabia's, Hamas, BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates, HSBC, Former U.S, U.S, Saudi Telecom Corp, Telefonica, Investment Fund, Chevron, Blackstone Group, Investment Initiative, Saudi, FII, Reuters, Jorgelina, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rights RIYADH, Israel, Davos, Swiss, Gaza, Europe, Asia, London

☆ Saudi is wild card in Middle East’s new turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the 18th consultative meeting of the leaders of the GCC & the Gulf summit with the central Asian countries C5, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 19, 2023. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mohammed bin Salman is the wild card in the Middle East’s new conflict. Saudi Arabia also needs prices above $85 a barrel in order to balance its budget. Saudi Arabia also needs to consider the views of international investors, though. For now, Saudi Arabia can count on the support of global bankers and fund managers.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s, Biden, Netanyahu, International Energy Agency reckons, Jamal Khashoggi, nix, Larry Fink, JPMorgan’s, Jamie Dimon, Israel, Antony Blinken, Jordan, ” Blinken, ”, “, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Al Jazeera, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: GCC, Saudi Press Agency, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Hamas, Israel . U.S, MbS, United, Gaza, International Energy Agency, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Saudi, kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, U.S, PGA, Foreign Investment, Telefonica, STC, BlackRock’s, Future Investment, United States, Diplomats, don’t, Palestinian, Israeli, United Arab, Iran’s, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, Palestinian, Israel ., United States, Gaza, OPEC, Russia, Saudi Aramco, Riyadh, Palestine, United, Amman, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon, America

☆ Vodafone, Three execs tell lawmakers their UK merger will benefit 5G, jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Branding is displayed for Vodafone at one of its stores in London, Britain, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Executives from Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison's (0001.HK) Three UK unit said their 15 billion pound ($18 billion) merger would benefit Britain's consumers, infrastructure and jobs, as lawmakers scrutinise the planned tie-up. Vodafone and Three UK have pledged to invest 11 billion pounds to build a 5G network for Britain as part of their bid to secure backing from politicians, unions and competition authorities for the merger announced in June. They warned that without the deal, Britain's 5G network would continue to lag that of other European nations. "Neither us nor Vodafone can invest sufficiently to build the type of 5G network that's needed," Three's Chief Technical Officer David Hennessy said.

Persons: Toby Melville, CK Hutchison's, Nicki Lyons, David Hennessy, Stephen Lerner, Sarah Young, Mark Potter Organizations: Vodafone, REUTERS, HK, Trade, VM O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

Europe's telecoms operators say Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), Meta's (META.O) Facebook, Netflix (NFLX.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) should bear some of the costs because they make up a huge part of internet traffic. Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) call it fair-share funding while Big Tech says it amounts to an internet tax. The French commissioner, a former chief executive at France Telecom and supporter of the operators' push, faced blowback from some of his fellow commissioners and some EU countries. Breton will likely voice concerns about the recent acquisitions of telecoms stakes by sovereign investment funds and private equity firms to EU telecoms ministers at an Oct. 23-24 meeting in Leon, Spain, another person said. ($1 = 0.9418 euros)Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Breton, Foo Yun Chee, Tomasz Janowski, Mark Porter Organizations: Big Tech, European Commission, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, France Telecom, EU, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, Orange, Leon, Spain

☆ Apollo, JB Capital preparing bid for Vodafone's Spanish unit, Expansion says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Oct 9 (Reuters) - U.S.-based buyout fund Apollo Global Management is readying a bid with local fund JB Capital for the Spanish unit of telecom giant Vodafone (VOD.L), the Expansion newspaper reported on Monday citing unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter. The news about a potential bid comes three weeks after British telecom investment company Zegona (ZEG.L) said it was in talks with Vodafone to buy the Spanish unit. Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle launched a strategic review of the Spanish unit earlier this year. Vodafone is one of the three largest telecom operators in Spain together with Telefonica (TEF.MC) and the local unit of France's Orange (ORAN.PA). Apollo and JB Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Nacho, Margherita Della Valle, Inti Landauro, Jason Neely Organizations: Vodafone, Congress, REUTERS, Rights, Apollo Global Management, JB Capital, Spanish, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Rights MADRID

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