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☆ European stocks open higher as positive momentum continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Paper and packaging businesses Smurfit Kappa and WestRock on Tuesday announced they had agreed to combine. The companies will form Smurfit WestRock, run through a holding company incorporated and domiciled in Ireland, with global headquarters in Dublin, and North and South American operations headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It will be led by CEO Tony Smurfit. Shareholders of U.S.-based WestRock will receive one Smurfit WestRock share and $5 cash, equivalent to $43.51 per share. The merger is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

Persons: Tony Smurfit, Kappa, — Jenni Reid Organizations: Kappa, Tuesday, U.S Locations: Ireland, Dublin, North, American, Atlanta , Georgia

☆ GE to sell stake in aircraft leasing provider AerCap
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Aly Song Acquire Licensing RightsSept 11 (Reuters) - AerCap Holdings NV (AER.N) said on Monday a unit of General Electric Co (GE.N) will sell 32.4 million shares in the aircraft leasing giant through an underwritten public offering. The transaction will be worth $2 billion based on AerCap's closing price, according to LSEG data, and follows a sale by GE of 18 million shares in March. GE said in March 2021 it will "over time" sell its stake - 33.6% as per latest LSEG data - after AerCap bought the conglomerate's aircraft leasing unit in a $30 billion deal. AerCap also agreed on Monday to repurchase 12.2 million shares, worth $750 million. GE Capital US Holdings Inc expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 4.9 million additional ordinary shares.

Persons: Aly, AerCap, Goldman Sachs, Morgan, Kannaki, Sriraj Organizations: Electric, GE, Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, AerCap Holdings, General Electric Co, GE Capital US Holdings Inc, Citigroup, Barclays, BofA Securities, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Dublin, Bengaluru

☆ GE to sell $2.44 bln stake in aircraft leasing provider AerCap
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AerCap said GE Capital U.S. Holdings will sell about 40.7 million shares of the company at $59 per share. The offering was upsized from the previously announced 32.4 million shares. The transaction follows a sale of 18 million shares by GE in March. In March 2021, GE said it would "over time" sell its stake - 33.6% as per latest LSEG data - after AerCap bought the conglomerate's aircraft leasing unit in a $30 billion deal. AerCap also agreed on Monday to repurchase about 15.3 million shares, worth about $878 million, at $57.53 per share.

Persons: Aly, AerCap, Goldman Sachs, Morgan, Kannaki Deka, Sriraj Kalluvila Organizations: Electric, GE, Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, AerCap Holdings, General Electric Co, GE Capital U.S . Holdings, GE Capital, underwriters, Citigroup, Barclays, BofA Securities, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Dublin, Bengaluru

☆ I moved from Texas to Italy because I was concerned about US politics and the economy. Venice is so much more reasonable in every single way.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Alan Bruton moved to Italy in 2022, after years of visiting a biannual design festival in Venice. I moved to New York after college and I became a professor of architecture and interior design at Parsons. I don't know when I'm going to do that. Academia didn't set me up for the retirement that I wantedBeing an academic, I realized that I wasn't going to be making any more money. AdvertisementAdvertisementFor me, the cost of living in Venice is less expensive than the USVenice is so much more reasonable in every single way.

Persons: Alan Bruton, I'm, George Floyd, Academia didn't, you'll, I'd, Bruton Organizations: Service, Parsons, University of Houston, Academia Locations: Italy, Venice, Houston, Wall, Silicon, Dallas, New York, European, Tribeca, States, America, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Ireland, Rotterdam , Netherlands, Vienna, Zurich, Italian

☆ Van Dijk says ban and fine hard lesson to learn
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 9 (Reuters) - Virgil van Dijk said his sending-off for Liverpool, and extended suspension, had been a hard lesson learnt but he now wants to put a line under it. He was charge by the Football Association with improper conduct and on Friday had an extra game added to his mandatory one-match ban, which he served when Liverpool beat Aston Villa last weekend. Van Dijk, away on national team duty with the Netherlands, will also miss Liverpool’s home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers next Saturday. "It is a hard and expensive lesson but I don’t want to say much more. Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Virgil van Dijk, Van Dijk, Mark Gleeson, Ed Osmond Organizations: Liverpool, Premier League, Newcastle United, Football Association, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ireland, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, Dublin, Cape Town

☆ Ake available to play for Dutch in Dublin
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Nathan Ake is available for the Netherlands’ European Championship qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Sunday after being replaced in their last match on Thursday with a hamstring problem. The defender went off after the first half of the Netherlands' 3-0 Group B win over Greece in Eindhoven. Coach Ronald Koeman said Ake had felt a twinge in his hamstring and been replaced as a precautionary measure but that the Manchester City centre would be available for Sunday’s match. The Dutch and Greeks have six points each while the Irish have only three. Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nathan Ake, Ronald Koeman, Ake, Mark Gleeson, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: Greece, Manchester City, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Dublin, Eindhoven, Manchester, France, Germany, Cape Town

☆ England confirms 34 COVID cases linked to highly mutated variant
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEXU Science Communication/via Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreSept 8 (Reuters) - UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) said on Friday that 34 COVID-19 cases linked to the highly mutated variant BA.2.86 had been identified in England. Of the 34 confirmed cases identified as of Sept. 4, five patients were hospitalised and no deaths had been linked to the new emerging variant. The agency said 28 of the confirmed cases were identified from a single outbreak at a care home in Norfolk. Moderna (MRNA.O) and rival Pfizer (PFE.N) said on Wednesday their updated COVID-19 vaccines generated strong responses in testing against the BA.2.86 subvariant. Reporting by Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb ChakrabartyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Renu Bindra, Khushi, Saumyadeb Organizations: Science, Trinity College, Reuters, Health Security Agency, Omicron, Moderna, Pfizer, Thomson Locations: Dublin, Wuhan, England, Norfolk, Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa, Israel, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Pádraig Harrington: Golfer plays tournament with his two dogs – and even gets them security passes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Take the dogs for a walk or play a round of golf? Why not both, said Pádraig Harrington. Playing in a Pro-Am event ahead of his home tournament at the DP World (European) Tour’s Irish Open on Wednesday, the Dublin-born golfer brought along his two Bernese Mountain Dogs to keep him company. The excitement of the day looked to have caught up with the pair eventually, though, with a later post on X from Harrington showing them sprawled out across the kitchen floor. “When you actually do something, it can be quite dramatic,” Harrington told reporters Tuesday.

Persons: Pádraig Harrington, –, – Wilson, Harrington, 🚨, “ Organizations: CNN, Setanta Locations: Dublin

Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is offering a new, higher welcome bonus. World of Hyatt Business Credit Card Apply now lock icon An icon in the shape of lock. World of Hyatt Business Card review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user." You can read all the details in our World of Hyatt Business Credit Card review.

Persons: Hyatt, it's, I've, you'll Organizations: Hyatt Business, Service, Hyatt, Card, FDIC, Manchester Grand Hyatt San, Hyatt Paris Locations: Wall, Silicon, Hyatt, Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, Dublin

☆ Belgium toasts its beer riches with new visitor centre
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] An inside view of the Belgian Beer World, the world's largest interactive experience center about beer, that opened in the renovated stock exchange building "La Bourse/De Beurs", in Brussels, Belgium September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Belgium is promoting its centuries of beer-making and 430 breweries with a new visitor centre in Brussels that recounts the history of Belgian production and aims to show what is unique about the country's beer and beer culture. Belgian Beer World will open on Saturday in the neoclassical former Brussels Stock Exchange, renovated at a cost of 90 million euros ($96.25 million). Visitors will learn about "Belgitude" - Belgian identity - and what distinguishes Belgian beer from others - such as the four different fermentation methods and the culture of each beer having its own branded glass. Belgium produces some 1,600 beers and its beer culture secured a place on the UNESCO global list of traditions worthy of preservation in 2016.

Persons: Yves Herman Acquire, Krishan Maudgal, Mayor Philippe Close, Philip Blenkinsop, Frances Kerry Organizations: Belgian Beer, REUTERS, Rights, Brussels Stock Exchange, Belgian Brewers, UNESCO, Mayor, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights BRUSSELS, Belgian, Dublin, Amsterdam

☆ Lessor AerCap agrees settlement over Aeroflot jets stranded in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Conor Humphries | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Before last year's invasion of Ukraine, Russia was a major market for aircraft lessors, which bought jets from Boeing (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA) and leased them to Russian airlines. Aeroflot said in a statement that ownership of 18 aircraft and five engines had transferred to NSK following settlement with AerCap. AerCap filed a $3.5 billion London lawsuit last year against AIG and Lloyd's over 141 aircraft and 29 aircraft engines it owned that were on lease to Russian airlines. AerCap said settlement discussions were ongoing with respect to claims under the insurance policies of several other Russian airlines. AerCap in March said it had been approached by Russian airlines and their insurance companies about possible settlements for the stranded planes.

Persons: BOE, Denis Balibouse, AerCap, lessors, Conor Humphries, Gleb Stolyarov, Kirstin Ridley, Jason Neely, David Evans, Peter Graff Organizations: Airbus, Russian, Aeroflot, REUTERS, DUBLIN, NSK, Rossiya, Boeing, U.S . Treasury, Commerce, AIG, SMBC Aviation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Ireland, Moscow, NSK, AerCap, EU

CNN —Kourtney Kardashian is full of gratitude after experiencing a scary medical complication during her pregnancy. She continued, “I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. Kardashian and Barker, who is the drummer for Blink-182, are expecting their first child together. “Praise be to God,” Kardashian said at the end of her post. “Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing.”

Persons: CNN — Kourtney Kardashian, ”, Travis Barker’s, hasn’t, ” “, Kardashian, Barker, Scott Disick, “, ” Kardashian, Kris Jenner, ” Barker Organizations: CNN, mamas, ” Locations: Glasgow, Scotland, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

☆ Ryanair traffic hits new record in August, up 12% year on year
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I) flew 12% more passengers in August than in the same month last year, it said on Monday, its latest all-time traffic record in what is typically its busiest month. Europe's largest airline by passenger volume said it flew 18.9 million passengers in August, up from 16.9 million a year earlier and up from 14.9 million in August 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It achieved its previous record, 18.7 million passengers, in July. The Irish airline has said it expects traffic in the financial year to March 2024 to grow by 9%, to around 183.5 million passengers. Writing by Conor Humphries; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Conor Humphries, Jason Neely Organizations: DUBLIN, Ryanair, Irish, Citi, Thomson Locations: Western Europe, Eastern Europe

☆ This company thinks the future of education is virtual reality schools that offer students a more 'decentralized' experience
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementBack in 2015, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey predicted that — sooner or later — virtual reality headsets would find their way into the classroom and enable a new, more immersive future for education. Now, an online school called Optima Academy Online seems to be answering those queries, and bringing Luckey's vision to fruition. Kevin Wolf/APOptimaEd, the Florida-based company behind Optima Academy, is helmed by conservative education activist Erika Donalds, wife of Republican Congressman Byron Donalds. A field trip to EverestThe school instructs students through a combination of virtual reality sessions and online classes. Instruction for kindergarten through second grade is more similar to virtual school where classes are both live and pre-recorded, according to Optima's website.

Persons: Adam Mangana, Palmer Luckey, Luckey, Erika Donalds, Byron Donalds, Kevin Wolf, Ron DeSantis, Jeremy Bailenson, Optima's Organizations: Yorker, New, Summit, Optima, Meta, Optima Academy, Everest, New Yorker, Research Locations: Florida, Dublin, Everest, à, Arizona, Michigan, Yorker

☆ Blink-182 postpones concerts in Europe as Travis Barker returns stateside for ‘urgent family matter’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Travis Barker has had to put family first instead of continuing to tour with his rock band Blink-182. The shows were part of Blink-182’s “World Tour 2023/2024,” which started in April, and were slated for the beginning of this month. No additional information was made available about the nature of the family matter. Barker is married to Kourtney Kardashian, and the pair are currently expecting their first child together (Kardashian already has three children with her ex, Scott Disick). On Thursday night, Barker posted pictures of a communal prayer room to his verified Instagram Story.

Persons: CNN — Travis Barker, Barker “, ”, Barker, Kourtney Kardashian, Kardashian, Scott Disick, “ Travis I’m Organizations: CNN Locations: Glasgow, Scotland, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, ”, Antwerp, Belgium

☆ Liverpool handed favourable draw in Europa League group stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Soccer Football - Europa League - Group Stage Draw - Monaco, Monaco - September 1, 2023 General view of the completed draw Valerio Pennicino/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSept 1 (Reuters) - Liverpool will take on LASK, Union Saint-Gilloise and Toulouse in the Europa League group stage while debutants Brighton & Hove Albion will face Ajax Amsterdam and Olympique de Marseille following the draw on Friday. Liverpool, who have lifted the trophy on three occasions, will be hot favourites to qualify top from Group E.Brighton face a tough task in their bid to progress past the group stage on their debut in European competition. Europa Conference League champions West Ham United were drawn with Olympiacos, Freiburg and TSC Backa Topola in Group A. Third-placed teams in the Europa League groups will drop to the third-tier Europa Conference League where they will play the group runners-up from that competition in the knockout round playoffs. The Europa League final will take place at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on May 22 next year.

Persons: Valerio Pennicino, Brighton's, Aadi Nair, Toby Davis Organizations: Soccer, Europa League, Monaco, REUTERS Acquire, Brighton & Hove Albion, Ajax Amsterdam, Olympique de Marseille, Liverpool, E, Brighton, Ajax, Marseille, AEK Athens, Europa Conference League, West Ham United, Olympiacos, TSC Backa, AS Roma, Slavia Prague, Sheriff Tiraspol, Servette, Bayer Leverkusen, Germany, Qarabag, Molde FK, BK Hacken, League, Dublin's Aviva, Thomson Locations: Monaco, Handout, Liverpool, LASK, Union, Toulouse, Freiburg, Bengaluru

☆ Theater to See Near N.Y.C. in September: ‘Ulysses,’ ‘The Pianist’ and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Laura Collins-Hughes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Here is a chance to see it live, in a McCarter Theater Center-Berkeley Repertory Theater co-production. The play was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007, when Vogel was on the jury. James Warwick directs the world-premiere production. Directed by John Collins, the company’s artistic director, this world-premiere production instead samples chunks from each of the novel’s 18 episodes, letting them erupt in all their verbosity, vulgarity, vivacity and — it is Joyce, after all — opacity. Cross that with the trans-Atlantic success of “Six,” and you arrive at this production: a Lizzie Borden rock musical with an all-female cast.

Persons: Paula Vogel, underproduced, Davis, Vogel, Donald Margulies, ”, Karen Allen, Reed Birney, James Warwick, Ulysses ’, “, James Joyce’s, Leopold Bloom’s, John Collins, Joyce, Scott Shepherd, Wladyslaw Szpilman, Polanski, Emily Mann, Iris Hond, georgestreetplayhouse.org, Lizzie ’, Lizzie Borden, Steven Cheslik, Tim Maner, Alan Stevens Hewitt, Lainie Sakakura, twhartford.org Organizations: McCarter Theater Center, Berkeley Repertory Theater, McCarter Theater Center , Princeton, Shakespeare & Company, Service, Fisher, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center Locations: California, N.J, Lenox, Dublin, Bard, Annandale, Hudson, N.Y, Polish, Warsaw, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center , New Brunswick, TheaterWorks Hartford, Hartford, Conn

☆ 'Revenge travel' could be here to stay - Irish hotel chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The post-pandemic trend of people prioritising travel could be a more permanent change in consumers' spending habits, the head of Ireland's largest hotel group Dalata (DHG.I) said on Tuesday. "Certainly 2, 3, 4 years before COVID people in their 20s would have been prioritizing travel and experiences over buying things. Crowley said there also seemed to be a lasting change in corporate bookings where travellers take fewer trips but stay longer and with Ireland's large multinationals spending far less on business travel than they did pre-COVID. The Dublin-based group said it had 750 million euros available to spend on adding more hotels. ($1 = 0.9248 euros)Reporting by Padraic Halpin Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Clayton, Dermot Crowley, Crowley, Dalata, Padraic Halpin, Mark Potter Organizations: DUBLIN, Reuters, Thomson Locations: United Kingdom, Dublin, London

☆ StanChart to sell jet leasing arm to Saudi wealth fund unit for $3.6 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Rishav Chatterjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Standard Chartered bank logo is seen at their headquarters in London, Britain, July 26, 2022. Riyadh-headquartered AviLease, also known as Aircraft Leasing Co, is a jet lessor owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. StanChart said in January it was exploring options for its global aviation finance business. Dublin-based Standard Chartered Aviation Finance owns and manages more than 120 aircraft and offers services including jet fuel hedging, debt financing and remarketing of unneeded planes. PIF is setting up startup carrier Riyadh Air to predominantly serve the kingdom’s capital, which has ambitions to become a global business hub.

Persons: Peter Nicholls, StanChart, Simon Cooper, Airfinance, Fahad Al, Saif, AviLease, Rishav Chatterjee, Shounak Dasgupta, Mark Potter Organizations: Chartered, REUTERS, Aircraft Leasing Co, Chartered Aviation Finance, Aviation Finance, Corporate, Institutional Banking, Standard Chartered, Saudi Public Investment Fund, Riyadh Air, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi, Dublin, Europe, Bengaluru

☆ Flights to and from UK impacted by air traffic 'technical issue'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The new remote control tower is seen between traffic cones at London City Airport, Britain, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Britain's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) was forced to restrict the flow of aircraft on Monday as it works to address a technical issue, it said, with airlines and airports warning of delays and cancellations. "We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. Engineers are working to find and fix the fault," a spokesperson said, adding that UK airspace was not closed. Earlier Scottish airline Loganair said on social media site X, previously known as Twitter, that there had been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems, warning international flights may face delays.

Persons: John Sibley, Loganair, NATS, Kylie MacLellan, Mitch Phillips, Louise Heavens, Jason Neely, Alison Williams Organizations: London City Airport, REUTERS, Air Traffic Service, Engineers, Scottish, London Luton, Birmingham, British Airways, Dublin Airport, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Britain, Budapest

Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard's games characters in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. The carve-out is designed to not upset a deal with Brussels for Microsoft to license content to rival cloud services. The CMA's block in April drew fury from the merging parties, with Microsoft saying that Britain was closed for business. It said on Tuesday that it had not felt any political pressure over its handling of the deal. The CMA will also avoid having to defend its original block in court, and Microsoft finally looks set to secure its deal.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ronan Scanlan, Arthur Cox, Gustaf Duhs, Scanlan, Antony O'Loughlin, Setfords, Tom Smith, there's, Smith, Kate Holton, Paul Sandle, Martin Coulter, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, REUTERS, Markets Authority, U.S, Ubisoft Entertainment, European Union, U.S ., CMA, Reuters, Stevens & Bolton, Ubisoft, European, Geradin Partners, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Britain, U.S, Brussels, Dublin, United States, European Union, China, London

☆ US CDC says new COVID lineage could cause infections in vaccinated individuals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CDC said it was too soon to know whether this might cause more severe illness compared with previous variants. But due to the high number of mutations detected in this lineage, there were concerns about its impact on immunity from vaccines and previous infections, the agency said. Scientists are keeping an eye on the BA.2.86 lineage because it has 36 mutations that distinguish it from the currently-dominant XBB.1.5 variant. The agency had earlier this month said it was tracking the highly mutated BA.2.86 lineage, which has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel. CDC said on Wednesday the current increase in hospitalizations in the United States is not likely driven by the BA.2.86 lineage.

Persons: Pratik Jain, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Science, Trinity College, Reuters, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, Thomson Locations: Dublin, Wuhan, United States, Denmark, Israel, hospitalizations, Bengaluru

Medtronic Plc logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, April 10, 2023. Medtronic, which makes pacemakers, catheters and other tools used in heart and gastrointestinal surgeries, joins rivals, including Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N), Stryker (SYK.N) and Boston Scientific (BSX.N), on benefiting from a rise in non-urgent surgeries. CEO Geoff Martha said trends pointed to a recovery in surgical volumes as some procedures returned to stronger than pre-pandemic levels. Whereas, revenue from its medical surgical unit rose 5.5% to $2.04 billion. Medtronic also said that it was expecting to split its patient monitoring and respiratory interventions businesses in the first half of fiscal 2025.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Stryker, Geoff Martha, It's, Martha, Edward Jones, John Boylan, Medtronic, Bhanvi Satija, Christy Santhosh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Abbott, Abbott Laboratories, Boston, Thomson Locations: Dublin, Bengaluru

☆ Medtronic raises forecast as demand for heart devices powers upbeat results
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - Medtronic (MDT.N) on Tuesday raised its annual profit forecast, after beating first-quarter estimates on higher demand for its medical devices used in heart and gastrointestinal surgeries. A recovery in non-urgent procedures and easing staffing shortages following a decline in COVID-19 cases has boosted the demand for medical devices. Sales at Medtronic's heart devices unit, its biggest revenue driver, increased 5.5% to $2.85 billion for the first quarter, above analysts' estimates of $2.78 billion. Revenue for the quarter rose 4.5% to $7.70 billion, topping analysts' average estimate of $7.57 billion. Its adjusted profit of $1.20 per share for the quarter ended July 28 beat estimates of $1.11 per share.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Medtronic, Stryker, Bhanvi Satija, Christy Santhosh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Abbott Laboratories, Boston, Revenue, Thomson Locations: COVID, Dublin, Bengaluru

☆ US CDC tracks new lineage of virus that causes COVID
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Deena Beasley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The lineage is named BA.2.86, and has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel, the CDC said in a post on messaging platform X. "As we learn more about BA.2.86, CDC's advice on protecting yourself from COVID-19 remains the same," the agency said. The WHO said that, so far, only a few sequences of the variant have been reported from a handful of countries. The new lineage, which has 36 mutations from the currently-dominant XXB.1.5 COVID variant "harkens back to an earlier branch" of the virus, explained Dr. S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist. https://slides.com/jbloom/new_2nd_gen_ba2_variant?ftag=YHF4eb9d17#/12The Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is the strain targeted by vaccines in upcoming COVID booster shots.

Persons: Wesley Long, Jesse Bloom, Fred Hutch, Dr, Long, Shivani Tanna, Himani Sarkar, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Science, Trinity College, Reuters, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, World Health Organization, WHO, Houston Methodist, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Thomson Locations: Dublin, Wuhan, United States, Denmark, Israel, Bengaluru

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