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Companies GSK plc FollowLONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - British drugmaker GSK on Wednesday warned that the overhaul of laws governing the EU's pharmaceuticals industry risks forcing companies to invest and innovate elsewhere, which would hurt EU efforts to improve access to medicines. The European Commission will publish its long-awaited draft on Wednesday, detailing the biggest overhaul of medical laws in 20 years. The Commission has said the reforms aim to tackle unequal access to medicines across Europe while retaining the region's competitiveness for pharma companies developing and bringing new treatments to market. However, pressure to weaken market exclusivity protections could discourage companies from researching and launching treatments in Europe, she added. Reporting by Maggie Fick and Natalie Grover Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ StanChart profit swells on soaring global interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) on Wednesday said first-quarter pretax profit jumped 21%, beating expectations, as rising interest rates buoyed cash management income and retail product sales for the emerging markets-focused lender. The earnings update showed how rising central bank rates have boosted revenue, as StanChart charged borrowers more interest while not passing all of the increase to depositors. StanChart, which earns most of its revenue in Asia, said January-March statutory pretax profit reached $1.81 billion. The bank said income in its corporate cash management business tripled due to "strong pricing discipline and passthrough rate management". Retail banking income rose 53%, propelled by deposit income which also tripled to $771 million.

☆ Tobacco Company BAT Pleads Guilty to Violating U.S. Sanctions on North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sadie Gurman | Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

British American Tobacco PLC said it had abandoned its North Korean business, but continued selling tobacco to the regime using a front company, officials said. Photo: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—A U.K. tobacco company agreed to pay more than $635 million to resolve charges that it conspired to violate U.S. sanctions by selling cigarettes to North Korea in what Justice Department officials described as a brazen scheme to conceal illicit business by routing it through a third-party company in Singapore. The settlement payment was the largest penalty ever levied on a company for violating U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang. The company, British American Tobacco PLC, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors over illegal sales that took place over more than a decade, even after the company announced that it had abandoned its North Korean business, U.S. officials said. But BAT, which makes Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Pall Mall cigarettes, continued selling tobacco products to the isolated regime through a Singaporean front company.

The justices turned away five appeals by the oil companies of lower court decisions that determined that the lawsuits belonged in state court, a venue often seen as more favorable to plaintiffs than federal court. A separate appeal filed by the oil companies challenging lower court decisions in cases out of New Jersey and Delaware is still pending before the Supreme Court. Theodore Boutrous, an attorney for Chevron, expressed confidence that the cases will be dismissed in state court. That decision prompted other federal appeals courts to reconsider whether they should send similar lawsuits by state and local governments back to state courts. Four other appeals courts reached similar conclusions in the lawsuits by Rhode Island and jurisdictions in California, Colorado, Hawaii and Maryland.

SummarySummary Companies Britain's house prices show weak rise in AprilBunelm gains on Stifel upgradeMedica Group surges on buyout dealFTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.2%April 24 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Monday as energy stocks and base metal miners lost ground on weak demand outlook, while caution set in ahead of a busy week of earnings. Oil giants BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L) lost 0.9% and 1.2%, respectively, as crude prices fell more than 1% on concerns about rising interest rates, global economic slowdown and fuel demand outlook. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.2%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) was up 0.2%, as of 0821 GMT. Growth companies, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), are scheduled to report their earnings this week. The FTSE 100 logged its fifth consecutive weekly rise on Friday, marking its longest streak of weekly gains in more than a year, buoyed by commodity stocks, even as weak global economic growth outlook keeps investor sentiment subdued.

Companies Bp Plc FollowOSLO, April 22 (Reuters) - Norway's $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, said on Saturday it will vote against a resolution calling on British oil major BP (BP.L) to adopt tougher greenhouse gas targets. The Norwegian fund, itself built on oil and gas revenue, owned 2.73% of BP's shares worth some $2.8 billion at the end of 2022. BP's board has recommended that shareholders vote against the resolution saying it was "unclear" what it wanted the company to do. Investor advisers ISS and Glass Lewis also recommended BP shareholders oppose the resolution, while Britain's Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) asked investors to back it. In February BP rowed back on plans to slash its 2019 oil and gas output levels by 40% by 2030, and now it envisages a 25% cut, angering climate activists.

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - African countries are lining up to approve a new vaccine for malaria, with 20 million doses available for them to buy this year, the shot’s manufacturer told Reuters. African countries that do not have extensive resources for drug regulation have previously relied on the U.N. agency to initially review new medicines. "We expect many more countries to come through," Mary Hamel, the WHO's malaria vaccine implementation head, told the expert meeting on Tuesday. “We are committed to making the R21 vaccine available to people who need it most,” Poonawalla said. FUNDING DOUBTSThe moves are a further sign that African countries want to exert their own pharmaceutical oversight after COVID-19 exposed inequity in vaccine supply.

☆ Barclays Names HSBC Executive as Compliance Chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Barclays is navigating regulatory probes and a downturn in deals. Photo: Jason Alden/Bloomberg NewsBarclays PLC has hired a new chief compliance officer from rival HSBC Holdings PLC, as the bank navigates a deal-making downturn and continuing regulatory investigations into former Chief Executive Jes Staley ’s ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . London-based Barclays said Thursday that it has named Kirsty Everett as its new compliance chief, ending a few months of search. Ms. Everett is joining from HSBC, where she was group head of compliance after previously holding other senior compliance roles. She will start July 1, subject to regulatory approval, Barclays said.

☆ Want to invest in the A.I. boom? Veteran tech fund manager names 4 stocks to own
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic fantasy but closer to a reality predicted to transform many industries. "It's still very early, but ChatGPT described as the iPhone moment for the artificial intelligence technology industry feels about right to us." The tech fund manager also told CNBC's Pro Talks that four large-cap stocks were driving some of the biggest and most tangible advancements in artificial intelligence. Microsoft Microsoft could be one of the top options for investors looking to invest in artificial intelligence, according to Rogoff, lead manager of Polar Capital Technology Trust plc. The tech fund manager pointed to the company's 90% market share in search, where it can deploy its own ChatGPT-like language model.

☆ Seagate to Pay $300 Million for Violating Export Restrictions on China’s Huawei
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Seagate continued to sell hard drives to Huawei despite tightened export controls imposed on Huawei in 2020, the Commerce Department said. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesTwo subsidiaries of Seagate Technology Holdings PLC have agreed to pay $300 million for violating export restrictions placed on Huawei Technologies Co. over fears the Chinese telecommunications company posed a threat to U.S. national security. The data-storage equipment provider continued to sell hard drives to Huawei despite tightened export controls imposed on Huawei in 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday.

[1/2] Tide laundry detergent is shown on display in Compton, California, U.S., January 10, 2017. Fabric and family care, which includes the paper products, are among the company's biggest businesses. P&G's margins, a key sign of profitability investors closely watch, could take a hit if the company continues with heavier discounts. “Tide is who we would benchmark, and we’re seeing more discounts with them, and the category at large among bigger players.”Whritenour added that discounts are now deeper and more competitive. Market research firm Circana is forecasting discounts will continue to grow this year across household products as consumers face a darkening economic situation.

☆ Canadian dealmakers expect low-carbon shift will drive mining M&A
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TORONTO, April 20 (Reuters) - Canadian advisors to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) expect a shift toward low-carbon technologies and government subsidies for them will spur dealmaking in mining for years to come and some are already gearing up for it. Clients are hiring mining people within dealmaking teams, and boutique M&A advisory firms are adding talent, mostly in mining, he said. Canada this year expanded an investment tax credit to equipment needed by mining companies - and any other companies in the EV supply chain - to extract or process critical minerals. For copper and nickel deals, it was the best quarter on record since at least 1990, the data showed. "Mining is one of those sectors where you really want to be prepared for the inevitable market pickup."

Crude imports in March were 12.37 million bpd, while domestic output was 4.30 million bpd, giving a combined total of 16.67 million bpd. Subtracting the refinery throughput leaves 1.56 million bpd that likely flowed into either commercial or strategic inventories. The question for the oil market is what does it all mean for the outlook for crude oil demand in China? There is nothing inherently wrong with OPEC+'s forecast for global oil demand growth of 2.32 million bpd in 2023, or the 2 million bpd forecast from the International Energy Agency. By building stockpiles now, they can reduce crude imports later in the year if they deem prices to be too high.

☆ Glencore in hot pursuit of Teck with eyes on copper assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Swiss miner Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) said on Wednesday it was willing to raise its bid for Canada's Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO), its latest attempt to bring the Canadian miner on the negotiation table ahead of restructuring. Teck has repeatedly rejected Glencore's offer and instead urged shareholders to vote for the company's own plan to split its coal and copper businesses. Here is the snapshot of key events in the Teck-Glencore saga so far. Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.4%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) was down 0.8%, as of 0820 GMT. Data showed Britain now has Western Europe's highest rate of consumer price inflation, after a weaker-than-expected fall in March to 10.1% from February's 10.4%. The FTSE 100 clocked its longest winning streak since December 2020 on Tuesday, buoyed by defensive and commodity-linked stocks. Food, beverages and tobacco sector (.FTUB4510) was a bright spot, up 0.8% on the heels of sticky inflation numbers. Leading losses on the FTSE 250 was Liontrust Asset Management Plc (LIO.L), down 5.5% as the asset manager reported significant quarterly net outflows.

☆ Factbox: Red-hot copper riding a new wave of consolidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo for Canadian mining company Teck Resources Limited is displayed above their booth at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File PhotoApril 19 (Reuters) - Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) has offered $22.5 billion for Canadian copper miner Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO), the latest in a wave of deals in the global copper industry amid surging demand and tight supply for the red metal anchoring the green energy transition. "The green energy transition has been a growth driver for many aspects of the metals and mining industry, with demand for key metals such as copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt expected to remain on an upward trajectory and supply to trend downward," S&P Global Commodity Insights analyst Aude Marjolin said in a report. Following are some of the largest copper mining deals since 2022, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Generative AI, which the tech industry has embraced, has the ability to synthesize large amounts of data and answer complex questions. Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar said because companies use its software to track and document projects, Atlassian is in a unique position to use AI to help knowledge workers dramatically increase their productivity. Starting Wednesday, customers can join a waitlist to access the new features, the company said. Atlassian said the new AI features include the ability to extract action items and decisions from a meeting transcript, and draft Tweets and software testing plans based on product documentation. Reporting by Anna Tong in San Francisco; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Copper Shortage Threatens Green Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

In 2021, refined copper demand stood at 25.3 million tons, according to the International Copper Study Group. Mined output globally in 2022 was 21.8 million tons according to the International Copper Study Group, rising only 1 million tons over the previous three years. According to Congo’s Ministry of Mines, copper metal exports totaled 2.3 million metric tons in 2022, up from 1.8 million metric tons in 2021, less than half of Chile’s output. According to analysts it is more of a “when” not an “if” copper demand is likely to surge. Changes in technology should ease some copper demand pressures.

☆ Intuitive Surgical beats first-quarter sales on higher procedure volumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Sriparna Roy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG.O) beat estimates for first-quarter sales on Tuesday as the surgical robot maker recorded a rise in total procedure volumes. The company reported quarterly sales of $1.70 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $1.60 billion, according to IBES Refinitiv data. The medical device maker posted a 26% growth in procedure volumes of its surgical robot da Vinci in the first quarter through March from a year earlier. Investors are eyeing the launch of company's new multiport surgical robot, which could be a potential near-term catalyst, analysts said after Intuitive in January told its next generation system is not expected to be launched this year. Excluding items, Intuitive earned $1.23 per share in the first quarter, above analysts' average estimate of $1.20 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

☆ AstraZeneca confident new COVID antibody protects against known variants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/ Albert GeaCompanies AstraZeneca PLC FollowBARCELONA, April 18 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca is confident that its new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment could protect immunocompromised patients against all known virus variants, its vaccines head said. AstraZeneca plans, pending more positive data and regulatory approval, to make the antibody available by the end of 2023. In January, the U.S. health regulator withdrew its emergency use authorization for AstraZeneca's original COVID-19 antibody cocktail Evusheld, as new dominant variants made it obsolete. AstraZeneca's AZD3152, it new COVID-19 antibody, was acquired through a $157 million deal last year with British biotech start-up RQ Bio. However, demand for COVID-19 vaccines have dramatically declined with competition from mRNA vaccines and given many countries already have an oversupply of COVID-19 shots.

☆ Nielsen Regains Key Media Accreditation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nielsen’s TV ratings provide audience estimates that networks use to sell commercial time and reassure advertisers they got what they paid. The media industry’s measurement watchdog, the Media Rating Council, said it voted to restore accreditation for Nielsen Holdings PLC’s national TV ratings service, which had been suspended since 2021. Nielsen has long been known for its U.S. TV ratings, which provide audience estimates that networks use to sell commercial time and reassure advertisers they got what they paid for, using a panel of households that let the company track what they watch. The MRC audits media-measurement products to instill confidence in their results, but pulled its accreditation of Nielsen’s national ratings after issues including pandemic-related undercounting of viewers.

☆ PageGroup sees 29% slump in annual profit on tough market conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 17 (Reuters) - Global recruiter PageGroup Plc (PAGE.L) on Monday forecast a near 29% slump in its annual profit and said the challenging conditions it experienced towards the end of 2022 have continued into 2023. PageGroup now expects annual operating profit to be in line with a company-compiled consensus of 140 million pounds ($173.9 million), way below the 196.1 million pounds it reported for fiscal year 2022. High inflation and persistent recession worries have forced many companies to cut jobs or freeze hiring, and prefer temporary hiring over permanent roles in their bid to minimise potential risks. The FTSE midcap (.FTMC) firm also posted a 2.4% decline in gross profit at 262.7 million pounds in constant currency terms for the three months ended March 31, mainly weighed down by performance in the Asia Pacific region. ($1 = 0.8054 pounds)Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh VenkateshwaranOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Manchester United tanks on report Glazers may avoid sale with new investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Manchester United PLC (MANU.N) fell 13% on Monday after a report said the Glazer family was confident of securing an investment that would allow them to retain ownership of the British soccer club. The family also expects the investment to help them double the value of the club over the next 10 years, ESPN reported, citing a source. Shares fell to their lowest since late NovemberA small portion of the club's shares is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Any sale of the club would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far - the $5.2 billion including debt and investments paid for Chelsea - sources had told Reuters previously. ($1 = 0.8083 pounds)Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exxon declares force majeure on crude liftings in Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A logo of the Exxon Mobil Corp is seen at the Rio Oil and Gas Expo and Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File PhotoHOUSTON, April 17 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N) in Nigeria declared force majeure on oil liftings from different terminals in the country following industrial action by the company's in-house workers union, the company said on Monday in a statement. In the third quarter last year, production in Nigeria fell behind Angola to about 1 million bpd as companies like Shell PLC (SHEL.L) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) exited the country amid widespread corruption and security issues. Nigeria produced 1.38 million bpd in February, according to OPEC's latest report. "We will continue to take all reasonable actions necessary to resolve the impasse as soon as possible," Exxon spokesperson Michelle Gray said in a statement on Monday.

☆ Teck's base metals business attracts offers from Freeport, Vale, Anglo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Mrinmay Dey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

These approaches from international miners come as the Vancouver-based miner is fending off unsolicited bids from Glencore Plc (GLEN.L). Freeport, Vale and Anglo American declined to comment. Teck investors will decide on the Canadian miner's restructuring plan on April 26. Influential proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) on Thursday advised shareholders to reject Teck's restructuring plan on uncertainties and structural issues. The Globe and Mail first reported interest in Teck's base metals business.

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