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☆ Exxon quits drilling in Brazil after failing to find oil - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Exxon Mobil Corp FollowApril 5 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) has ended a major campaign to find oil in Brazil, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. However, the company has not ruled out future projects in the country, the report added, citing sources. Exxon had bet billions of dollars on offshore drilling in Brazil, and the country was one of the three geographic areas the company was counting on for most of its future production. The other two - Guyana and U.S. shale country - are performing well, but Exxon is yet to make a major oil discovery as an operator in Brazil's water. The reported news comes less than a day after Exxon signalled that its first-quarter operating profits dropped about 25% from last year's record levels on easing oil and gas prices.

☆ Apollo sweetens bid for Britain's Wood Group with $2.1 bln offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies Wood privately rejected fourth offer - ApolloWood Group's shares down 2.2%April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Apollo Management has made what it said was a final offer to buy John Wood Group (WG.L) for 1.66 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) in cash, after the British oilfield services and engineering firm rejected four earlier proposals. The 240 pence per share bid represents a premium of about 55% to Wood's closing share price on Feb. 22, the day before it made Apollo's proposals public. Apollo said Wood Group had privately rejected its previous offer of around 1.64 billion pounds, that the firm had made on March 6. Shares in London-listed Wood Group were down 2.2% at 200 pence at 1516 GMT, much lower than the possible offer price, indicating that investors do not expect the deal to go through. Wood separately said it noted the sweetened possible offer from Apollo for the company, and added it continues to engage with its shareholders.

☆ LayerZero Labs valued at $3 billion after latest fund-raise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 4 (Reuters) - LayerZero Labs said on Tuesday that it has raised $120 million in an early stage funding round, that has tripled the blockchain messaging protocol's valuation to $3 billion. The Series B fund-raise saw participation from 33 investors, including a16z crypto, Christie's, Circle Ventures, OpenSea Ventures, Samsung Next, and Sequoia Capital, amongst others. In February, Via said it bagged a valuation of $3.5 billion after a funding round led by 83North. Last year, the New York-based blockchain infrastructure provider had raised $135 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital, FTX Ventures among others that valued it at $1 billion. It has received backing from some of the strongest crypto-focused companies in the entire world, including Binance, Blockdaemon, Christie's, Circle Ventures, Coinbase, OpenSea Ventures, and many more.

☆ Indian edtech startup Unacademy to lay off 12% of staff - document
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, March 30 (Reuters) - Indian edtech startup Unacademy is laying off 12% of its workforce, citing a funding winter and pressure to turn profitable, according to an internal mail from the company's chief executive seen by Reuters on Wednesday. "Today... funding is scarce and running a profitable business is key," CEO and co-founder Gaurav Munjal said in an email sent to all staff. A spokesperson for Unacademy declined to comment on the layoffs and did not disclose the number of job cuts or the current headcount. Indian business news publication Moneycontrol reported earlier in the day that the SoftBank-backed startup laid off about 380 employees, reducing its total employee count to under 3,000. Companies that have cut staff include Tiger Global-backed Vedantu and Byju's - India's biggest startup valued at $22 billion.

☆ Trump-backed SPAC Digital World regains compliance with Nasdaq listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O), a blank-check firm that is to merge with former U.S. President Donald Trump's social media platform, said on Wednesday it had been cleared by the Nasdaq over non-payment of certain dues. Earlier this month, Digital World revealed that it had received a notice from the exchange over non-payment of some dues which could lead to a potential de-listing. Digital World has already been facing delays in closing the deal to take Truth Social public due to investigations on whether the Trump-backed company broke securities regulations. The deal was inked in October 2021 and late last year shareholders approved extending the deadline to close the deal to September 2023. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WHO revises COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for Omicron-era
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A 50 years old and immunocompromised resident receives a second booster shot of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in Waterford, Michigan, U.S., April 8, 2022. The health agency defined high-risk populations as older adults, as well as younger people with other significant risk factors. Meanwhile, it said healthy children and adolescents were "low priority" for COVID-19 vaccination, and urged countries to consider factors like disease burden before recommending vaccination of this group. It said the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters were safe for all ages, but the recommendations took into account other factors like cost-effectiveness. Some high-income countries like the United Kingdom and Canada are already offering those at high-risk COVID-19 boosters this spring, six months after their last dose.

☆ UK's WPP buys Obviously to expand social influencer marketing business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - British advertising group WPP (WPP.L) said on Monday it has acquired Obviously, a New York-based social influencer marketing agency, for an undisclosed sum. The deal comes less than a week after WPP agreed to buy Goat, an influencer marketing specialist, which focusses on marketing campaigns that aim to improve customer engagement for brands including Dell, Tesco, Uber and Natura. Obviously's team of nearly 100 people will join WPP subsidiary VMLY&R, a marketing agency with over 13,000 employees, WPP said. WPP said Obviously's proprietary "next-generation" tech platform helps the agency service large-scale complex campaigns for enterprise clients including Google, Ford, Ulta Beauty and Amazon. Obviously was founded by Mae Karwowski and Maxime Domain in 2014 and has operations in San Francisco and Paris.

☆ WeWork reaches deals to cut debt, extend maturities
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Under the deals announced Friday, key investor SoftBank Group Corp's (9984.T) $1.0 billion unsecured notes would be converted to equity. The Japanese company held a stake of about 46% in WeWork before the restructuring was announced, as per Refinitiv data. About $1.9 billion of pro-forma debt will now mature in 2027, WeWork said, adding that it would have less than $2.0 billion in net debt once the deal closes. WeWork, which went public in 2021 after a two-year struggle, is yet to post a quarterly profit. PJT Partners LP advised WeWork on the debt restructuring, while Houlihan Lokey advised SoftBank.

☆ Goldman Sachs, other banks expect smaller hike from ECB in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Subhadeep Chakravarty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and at least two other banks expect the European Central Bank to deliver a smaller quarter-point hike in May, as it grapples with stress in the banking sector and high core inflation. Goldman's terminal rate forecast for the ECB now stands at 3.5%, down from 3.75% expected previously when it forecasted a 50-bps raise in May. For Morgan Stanley, a smaller May hike expectation leaves the peak rate forecast at 3.75% by July, down from 4% expected earlier. The changes in forecast follow the ECB's decision on Thursday to press ahead with a 50-bps hike in its deposit facility rate, taking it to 3%. Traders see the ECB rate peaking at around 3.23% by September or October.

☆ WeWork reaches deal to convert $1 billion of SoftBank's debt to equity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 17 (Reuters) - WeWork Inc (WE.N) said on Friday it had reached a deal to convert about $1 billion of key investor SoftBank Group Corp's (9984.T) unsecured notes into equity, in an effort to restructure its finances. Shares of the company rose 2.2% to $1 before the bell. Last month, WeWork forecast weak current-quarter revenue in a sign that its business was feeling the heat of mass layoffs, as companies reduce their real estate footprint. In January, the New York-based company also planned to eliminate about 300 roles across countries after announcing last year that it would exit about 40 underperforming U.S. locations due to high expenses and a strong U.S. dollar. Reporting by Kannaki Deka and Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic back in supply in US after months of shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) best-selling diabetes treatment drug Ozempic is back on the shelves in the United States after months of shortage, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website showed on Friday. The main active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, also the key ingredient in Novo's obesity drug Wegovy, which has been seeing supply shortage due to high demand. The company said the 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and the 1 mg doses of Ozempic are available for patients. The 2 mg dose, however, has limited availability until the end of this month, largely due to the demand coupled with overall global supply constraints. "While product continues to be manufactured and shipped, patients in some areas of the country will experience delays with the 2mg dose," Novo Nordisk said.

☆ U.S. bank deposits have started moving to money market funds - Goldman Sachs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs said deposits have started to move out of U.S. banks and towards money markets funds, as investors seek the safety in Treasury securities amid worries about stresses in the banking sector. Retail money market funds have seen large and accelerating inflows over the last week, Goldman said in a note on Thursday, likely suggesting some migration away from deposits. Following the collapse of SVB Financial Group and Signature Bank, U.S. regional bank stocks have had a bruising last few days, as investors worried about possible deposit outflows causing capital issues at other regional banks. Money markets appear to have continued functioning fairly well in recent days, and facilities such as the Federal Home Loan Banks lending channel and the Bank Term Funding Program should help maintain "healthy" market functioning even if financing needs spike, Goldman notes. Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to step down, president Clancy to take over
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc-owned (AMZN.O) Twitch's Chief Executive Officer Emmett Shear said on Thursday he will resign from the role after over 16 years at the live video streaming company. Twitch's president, Dan Clancy, who has been at the company since 2019 will take on the role of CEO effective immediately, Shear said in a blog post, adding that he will remain on as an advisor. "In October 2006 we started working on live video for the internet. More than 16 years later, I'm now a father and ready to move to my next phase of life," Shear tweeted. Shear co-founded live streaming platform Justin.tv which became Twitch in 2011 and quickly gained traction in the gaming community.

☆ Toronto stocks join global selloff as Credit Suisse sparks concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 15 (Reuters) - Canada's resources-heavy main stock index fell on Wednesday, dragged by energy and financial stocks, as Credit Suisse's turbulence sparked renewed concerns of a banking crisis. Global financial stocks slumped once again after a brief relief rally on Tuesday as Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) hit a record low after the Swiss lender's biggest backer said it would not buy any more shares. Energy stocks (.SPTTEN) were the top decliners, falling 5.7%, as oil prices extended losses with Brent crude hitting a three-month low. Financials (.SPTTFS), Canada's largest sector by weight, joined a global selloff in bank stocks, falling 2.2%. Canadian stocks have lost nearly all of their yearly gains in the last few days, with the index now at par after the collapse of U.S. lenders SVB and Signature sparked contagion concerns in global financial stocks.

☆ U.S. FDA approves Acadia's Rett syndrome drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The approval comes months after the FDA declined to approve expanded use of Acadia's drug Nuplazid to treat psychosis related to Alzheimer's disease. Acadia said it plans to make the drug available to patients by the end of April. He forecast peak U.S. trofinetide sales of $487.2 million by 2035. After the FDA declined to approve the expanded use of Nuplazid, Acadia said it would not pursue that indication for Nuplazid further. Improvement of symptoms was measured according to the assessment scales Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire and the Clinical Global Impression of Improvement.

March 14 (Reuters) - Shares of Uber Technologies (UBER.N) and Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) rose in premarket trading on Tuesday following a California court's ruling on treating drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, removing some future regulatory risks for the rideshare companies. A three-judge panel of the state appeals court on Monday reversed a lower court ruling in 2021 that the ballot measure, known as Proposition 22, was unconstitutional. Jefferies analysts estimate Lyft, DoorDash (DASH.N) and Uber have potentially avoided a hit of between $20 million and $170 million to their 2024 core earnings. Uber has dominated the rideshare and food delivery space thanks to massive scale, flexibility and presence in multiple global markets, crushing rivals Lyft and DoorDash. Shares of Lyft, which on Monday hit a record low, were up 6% in premarket trading.

The Food and Drug Administration made its assessment in briefing documents ahead of a meeting of the agency's external advisers on Thursday to discuss full approval to use Pfizer's oral pill for high-risk COVID-19 patients exhibiting mild to moderate symptoms. Paxlovid has been authorized for emergency use since late 2021, and a full approval is likely to allow Pfizer to expand its advertising campaign for the drug. Over 12 million courses have been delivered to pharmacies, and patients have used over 8 million courses of the treatment, according to Federal data. Paxlovid has shown reduction in risk of hospitalization or death by 86% in non-hospitalized, high-risk adult patients in Pfizer' study, which did not include vaccinated participants. Reporting by Leroy Leo and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. FDA approves Acadia's genetic Rett syndrome drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc's (ACAD.O) drug for the treatment of Rett syndrome, a genetic brain disorder, the company said on Friday, making it the first approved drug for the condition. The approval comes months after the FDA declined to approve expanded use of Acadia's drug Nuplazid to treat psychosis related to Alzheimer's disease. Acadia said it plans to make the drug available to patients by the end of April. He forecast peak U.S. trofinetide sales of $487.2 million by 2035. Improvement of symptoms was measured according to the assessment scales Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire and the Clinical Global Impression of Improvement.

☆ Moderna to hire around 2,000 employees amid mRNA development push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Moderna Inc FollowMarch 10 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Friday it was planning to hire about 2,000 employees globally by 2023-end and set up new offices on the U.S. West Coast, as it aims to scale up development of new products amid declining COVID vaccine sales. The COVID vaccine maker said it will open new offices in California and Seattle, adding that its Genomics unit will expand to south San Francisco. Last month, Moderna forecast rising costs for 2023 and a decline in COVID vaccine sales, raising concerns that the company could post a loss this year. The firm had about 3,900 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing. Reporting by Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Shinjini Ganguli and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adani seeks to sell stake in Ambuja Cement for $450 mln to reduce debt - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Gautam Adani is seeking to sell a stake in Ambuja Cement (ABUJ.NS) for about $450 million, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Adani on Thursday made a formal request to international lenders to sell 4% to 5% in Ambuja, his cement business, the report said. The Adani Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The embattled Adani Group last year acquired Holcim AG's (HOLN.S) cement businesses in India – Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd (ACC.NS) – for $10.5 billion, its largest-ever acquisition. Ambuja Cements closed down 1.7%, while ACC ended down 0.7% on Friday.

☆ U.S. FDA clears Abbott's blood test for concussions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Abbott Laboratories' (ABT.N) blood test that would help doctors assess traumatic brain injury (TBI), commonly known as concussions, the company said on Tuesday. The clearance marks the first commercially available laboratory blood test for TBI, according to the company, helping the doctors to rule out need for a CT scan in patients with mild TBI. Abbott already has a plasma test for TBI and was cleared by the FDA in 2021. The new test measures two indicators in the blood that, in elevated concentrations, are tightly correlated to brain injury, the company said. Reporting by Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Qualtrics gets $12.4 bln buyout offer from Silver Lake, Canada's CPPIB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 6 (Reuters) - Software maker Qualtrics International Inc (XM.O) said on Monday it has received a $12.4 billion go-private offer from private equity firm Silver Lake Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The offer values Qualtrics at $18.15 per share, a premium of nearly 6% to the stock's last closing price. They have gained 8.8% since the start of February when Silver Lake first expressed its interest in Qualtrics. Qualtrics and Silver Lake have entered into an exclusivity agreement for the deal talks, which ends on March 15. Silver Lake already holds a near 4.2% stake in Qualtrics.

☆ Commodity stocks weigh on TSX; Ritchie Brothers rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers Inc's shares (RBA.TO) rose 3.1% as two leading proxy advisory firms recommended that shareholders vote against the asset management firm's planned takeover of U.S. auto retailer IAA Inc (IAA.N). ET (15:12 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was up 20.46 points, or 0.08%, at 20,602.04. The energy sector (.SPTTEN) and miners (.GSPTTMT) fell 0.9% each, tracking declines in commodity prices after China over the weekend set a lower-than-expected gross domestic product target of 5%. "The commodity stocks are weighing on the index because China is forecasting growth for the upcoming year not as high or as we would have anticipated," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's FTSE 100 kicks off week on grim note; miners fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The export-oriented FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.2% and the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 (.FTSE) was flat by 9:25 GMT. Copper prices were in the red as top consumer China set a lower-than-expected gross domestic product target of 5%. Flutter Entertainment Plc (FLTRF.L) rose 2.4% and Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc surged 17.8% on price target raises by brokerages. Clarkson Plc (CKN.L) added 5.1% after the shipping services provider reported a strong annual profit. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. FDA panel to review expanded use of Merck-AstraZeneca's cancer drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) committee is scheduled to meet on April 28. The companies' are seeking approval of the drug Lynparza in combination with other medications – abiraterone and prednisone or prednisolone – for the treatment of a type of treatment-resistant prostate cancer in adult patients. Lynparza was approved in March last year by the FDA as a treatment for patients with early-stage breast cancer with certain mutations. The drug is also approved in the United States as a standalone treatment for another form of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among men in the United States with about 288,300 new cases of prostate cancer in 2023, according to the American Cancer Society’s estimates.

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