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The deal was opposed by consumer advocates and politicians on worries it could lead to higher prices due to an overlap between Rogers and Shaw's wireless divisions. Rogers reaffirmed its conditions, including setting up a western headquarters in Calgary, creating 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada and investing C$6.5 billion to upgrade connectivity. If it breaches the commitments, Rogers (RCIb.TO) will have to pay a fine of as much as C$1 billion, Champagne said at a news conference in Ottawa. Champagne said if wireless prices do not go lower, he would seek further legislative and regulatory powers. Rosa Addario, a spokesperson for internet advocacy group OpenMedia, said the concessions sought by the government were unlikely to result in lower prices.

☆ Canada set to approve Rogers takeover of Shaw with transfer -Globe and Mail
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 31 (Reuters) - Canada is set to approve on Friday a transfer of wireless licenses that will finally settle Rogers Communications Inc's (RCIb.TO) C$20 billion ($15 billion) bid for Shaw Communications Inc (SJRb.TO), the Globe and Mail reported. Rogers and Shaw agreed to sell Freedom Mobile to Quebecor for C$2.85 billion to win government approval for the merger. The minister will approve the transfer of Shaw's licenses to Quebecor's Videotron Ltd with a number of conditions attached, as well as financial penalties associated with breaking those conditions, the Globe and Mail said. The sale of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor is expected to close by March 31. Rogers in February extended the deadline for the deal to March 31 for the fourth time, as the companies awaited the final nod from Champagne.

☆ Credit Agricole launches China M&A and investment banking business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, March 27 (Reuters) - Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), France's second-biggest listed bank, has become the latest foreign lender to boost its China investment banking operations with the launch of a new unit. The new unit, Credit Agricole (Beijing) Advisory Services, focuses on cross-border merger and acquisition, encompassing purchases, disposals and capital raising, it said in a statement on Monday. The unit which began operations on March 10 is overseen by Huai Yang as head of the operation, the bank said. Previously, the bank served its Chinese advisory clients from its offshore base. Some global banks are accelerating their expansion in China with the government granting a few major licences since earlier this year.

☆ Meet François-Henri Pinault, the billionaire who's married to Salma Hayek and runs the luxury-goods empire that owns Gucci and Balenciaga
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"It was funny and dramatic and surreal," Pinault told The New York Times' T Magazine when describing taking over the company. "I knew it was coming, but I never expected it to happen so fast. I was still only 40 years old, and my father was 66 and in great shape, full of plans for PPR. But he had seen too many omnipotent fathers and what they did. Source: T Magazine

☆ Exclusive: IAEA confirms almost all missing uranium in Libya now accounted for
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VIENNA, March 24 (Reuters) - Most of the roughly 2.5 tons of natural uranium ore concentrate (UOC) recently declared missing from a site in Libya have been found at that site, the U.N. nuclear watchdog told member states on Friday in a statement seen by Reuters. The International Atomic Energy Agency informed member states in a similar confidential statement on March 15 first reported by Reuters that 10 drums containing the UOC had gone missing from a Libyan site not under government control. "During the (inspection), Agency inspectors observed that drums that had not been present at the declared location at the time of the previous (inspection) had since been brought back and left in close proximity to the declared location," it said. "Agency inspectors confirmed that these drums contained UOC and witnessed their transfer back to within the declared location for storage," the statement added. Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Leslie Adler and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Ramadan etiquette guide for non-Muslims
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Saeed Ahmed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

If your Muslim co-worker takes a pass, understand. You don’t have to know when it begins …Ramadan isn’t like Christmas or Thanksgiving, as in everyone knows exactly when it’ll fall. … but please be a little flexibleHow we determine when Ramadan begins is decidedly old-school: You have to physically see the moon (even though there are apps for that). You can say ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ …There’s no “war on Christmas”-level controversy surrounding the greeting (it means “Happy Ramadan”). Your Muslim co-worker will appreciate the thoughtfulness.

Persons: It’s, you’re, Francois Nel, it’s, Iftar, Ulet Ifansasti, Ramadan, ”, We’ll, Mubarak ’ … Organizations: CNN, TED, Getty Locations: United States, Al Noor Mosque, Sharjah, UAE, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Manila, Philippines, AFP

☆ UK inflation sucker-punches the BoE, while sterling bulls cheer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

British consumer price inflation (CPI) rose to 10.4% in February from January's 10.1%, above all economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll and almost back to where it was in December. "Core CPI missed by 0.5% - that's one of the biggest, if not the biggest misses on CPI in the recent series of inflation data. "The market is going to be second-guessing (the BoE) right now - it's difficult to assume there's just one more rate hike left in the tank," she said. RLAM's Nicholl noted recent data, such as employment, business activity and manufacturing, had shown strength, and consumer spending has held up. Derek Halpenny, EMEA head of research for global markets at Nomura said January and February's combined annual inflation rate of 9.67% makes for a "mildly supportive" outlook for the pound.

Sunak has tried to end years of wrangling over Brexit by revisiting one of the trickiest parts of the negotiations - to ensure smooth trade to Northern Ireland without creating a hard border with Britain or with European Union-member Ireland. "I welcome parliament voting today to support the Windsor Framework," Britain's Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris said on Twitter. "This measure lies at the very heart of the Windsor Framework which offers the best deal for Northern Ireland, safeguarding its place in the Union and addressing the democratic deficit." Sunak hailed securing the deal last month as a "decisive breakthrough" but by alienating the DUP he has failed in restoring the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson told parliament his party could not return to Northern Ireland's power-sharing government "at this stage".

☆ Despite opposition, UK's Sunak wins post-Brexit trade vote in parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak won the backing of parliament on Wednesday for a key element of a reworked post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland. Despite the opposition, Sunak won the vote by 515 to 29, suggesting that several in his Conservative Party had abstained on the vote. "The Stormont brake is at the heart of the (Windsor) Framework," Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris told parliament ahead of the vote. "It restores practical sovereignty for the United Kingdom as a whole and the people of northern Ireland in particular." Johnson, the face of the campaign to leave the EU, and his successor, Truss, both said they would vote against the brake.

☆ Vienna 'few degrees' exhibit tilts paintings to call for climate action
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, March 22 (Reuters) - A Vienna museum where climate activists recently attacked the glass screen shielding a Gustav Klimt painting has responded with an exhibit entitled 'A Few Degrees More' that tilts works to draw attention to the need for action on climate change. [1/5] A visitor of the Leopold museum looks at the painting " A boy at the spring " by Albin Egger Lienz after the museum tilted 15 of its paintings in protest of climate change in Vienna, Austria, March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 1 2 3 4 5It involves hanging 15 works by artists including Klimt and fellow Austrian great Egon Schiele at an angle, with texts calling attention to the effect that global warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels would have on the landscapes depicted in them. According to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), emissions must be halved by the mid-2030s if the world is to have any chance of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels - a key target enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Reporting by Leonhard Foeger Writing by Francois Murphy Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adobe releases tools for generating product images from 3D models
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 21 (Reuters) - Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) on Tuesday rolled out a tool aimed at helping marketing departments at e-commerce stores generate product images without having to pay for as many photo shoots. It is designed to allowing marketing professionals to come up with the images they need for web pages and marketing emails. The product straddles San Jose, California-based Adobe's longtime business of generating and editing images and its newer business of supplying technology tools for marketing and e-commerce. "Big e-commerce websites, they have hundreds of people" manually creating 3D renderings, Cottin said. In the case of a shoe, for example, an artist might create a 3D model of the basic model of the shoe.

☆ ECB's Holzmann waters down call for three more rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, March 20 (Reuters) - European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Robert Holzmann on Monday watered down his recent call for three further interest-rate increases of 50 basis points in quick succession. Holzmann, who heads the Austrian National Bank, told German business daily Handelsblatt two weeks ago the ECB should raise rates by 50 basis points at each of its next four meetings because inflation was proving stubborn. That was a likely reference to how higher central bank rates and jitters in the banking sector tend to have the same effect by discouraging lending and cooling economic activity. Similarly, Holzmann said that since his Handelsblatt interview liquidity in the financial system had decreased, referring to banking stocks' recent fall on fears of a new banking crisis. Reporting by Francois Murphy and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"I am very well aware of the delicacy of the situation ... but we are not yet at the finish line." Fellow hawk Simkus also told reporters in Vilnius he believed that Thursday's "was not the last rate hike". But neither policymaker made a case for a rate increase as soon as the next ECB meeting, and Kazimir said it was useless to speculate about the May 4 decision. French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the hike reflected the ECB's inflation-fighting priorities and signalled confidence in the solidity of European banks. "There are risks to inflation on both sides, but in my view, upward risks are much greater," he said.

March 17 (Reuters) - European Central Bank supervisors met to tackle growing cracks in the banking system on Friday after a $30 billion lifeline for U.S. lender First Republic Bank (FRC.N) eased fears of its imminent collapse. The rescue package came less than a day after Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) clinched an emergency central bank loan of up to $54 billion to shore up its liquidity. The two deals helped restore some calm to global markets, after a torrid week for banking stocks. "French and European banks are very solid," ECB policymaker and French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, told BFM business radio. Japan's finance ministry, financial regulator and central bank said they would meet on Friday to discuss developments.

☆ ECB's Villeroy: rate hike signals strong confidence in European banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's decision to raise interest rates by half a point on Thursday reflects the central bank's priority of fighting inflation and also signals strong confidence in the solidity of European banks, French ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday. "French and European banks are very solid," Villeroy, who is also governor of the French central bank, said on BFM business radio. "I think we sent a signal of confidence that is strong and dual. It reflects both confidence in our anti-inflation strategy and confidence in the solidity of European and French banks," Villeroy said. While the ECB had "the tools to ensure the liquidity of banks", Villeroy said it was unlikely it would have to use them as "European banks are not in the same situation as U.S. banks".

☆ Explainer: Everything to know about nuclear fuel uranium
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here is everything you need to know about uranium and its usage as a nuclear fuel. WHAT IS URANIUM USED FOR? The radioactive metal is the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy due to its abundance and the relative ease of splitting its atoms. It is also used in treating cancer, for naval propulsion, and in nuclear weapons. HOW MUCH URANIUM IS NEEDED FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPONThe amount of uranium that went missing contains enough of the U-235 isotope to build a first-generation nuclear bomb if enriched to over 90%, according to Dr. Edwin Lyman from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

☆ Turkey plans to ratify Finland's NATO bid ahead of May polls -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Amid growing tensions with Sweden, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled for the first time in January that Ankara could give a green light to Helsinki ahead of Stockholm. "It is highly likely that the necessary step for Finland's NATO membership will be completed before (parliament) closes and the election is held," the official said. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan indicated that he would send ratification of Finland's NATO membership to parliament soon, saying that he would "keep his promise". After that, we will fulfil our promise," Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday, when asked whether he would send ratification of Finland's NATO bid to Turkish parliament next week. "Positive messages will be given to Finland's president during his visit," the second official said.

☆ Police deploy to sensitive sites in Vienna, warning of Islamist attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, March 15 (Reuters) - Vienna police stepped up armed patrols at sensitive sites in the Austrian capital including churches on Wednesday after the country's domestic intelligence agency received information suggesting an Islamist attack was being planned. The city's police took the rare step of warning the public on social media that there would be a heightened presence of armed police, including special forces, in the city. Vienna is among the safest capitals in the world and militant attacks are rare. "Our intelligence services have reason to believe that an assault with an Islamistic motive is planned to be carried out in Vienna," Vienna police said in English on Twitter. The tourist-filled streets of central Vienna were busy as usual after the police warning.

☆ Exclusive: Tons of uranium missing from Libyan site, IAEA tells member states
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary IAEA inspectors visited site not controlled by govtInspection postponed since 2022 over security situationWatchdog found 10 barrels of natural uranium missingIAEA sees possible radiological risk, security concernsVIENNA, March 15 (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog inspectors have found that roughly 2.5 tons of natural uranium have gone missing from a Libyan site that is not under government control, the watchdog told member states in a statement on Wednesday seen by Reuters. IAEA inspectors "found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (uranium ore concentrate) previously declared by (Libya) ... as being stored at that location were not present at the location," the one-page statement said. "The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk, as well as nuclear security concerns," it said, adding that reaching the site required "complex logistics". Since 2014, political control has been split between rival eastern and western factions, with the last major bout of conflict ending in 2020. Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkey plans to ratify Finland's NATO bid ahead of May polls, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A senior Turkish official told Reuters that Finland's bid would be approved independently from that of Sweden. Niinisto, who will visit Turkey on March 16-17, said he believed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will give his blessing to Finland's NATO bid when the two meet. Erdogan indicated that he would send ratification of Finland's NATO membership to parliament soon, saying that he would "keep his promise". After that, we will fulfil our promise," Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday, when asked whether he would send ratification of Finland's NATO bid to Turkish parliament next week. "Positive messages will be given to Finland's president during his visit," the second official said.

☆ Man charged with dangerous driving after 'premeditated' killing of two in Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Firefighters stand near the site where a man ran down a group of pedestrians with a van in the in the Lower St. Lawrence region of Amqui, Quebec, Canada on March 13, 2023. Prosecutors told reporters that more charges would be filed as police completed their investigations but said it was too early to talk about possible murder charges. Police spokesperson Claude Doiron told reporters Gagnon was cooperating in the investigation. Quebec prosecutor Simon Blanchette told reporters it was too early to speak about a motive. "We see these types of events are happening more and more around the world, it's not unique to us," Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters.

SummarySummary Companies Move comes shortly after Scout plant announcementPlant in Canada can also qualify for IRA subsidiesBASF also picked Canada for EV battery materials plantWOLFSBURG, Germany, March 13 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) chose Canada to build its first battery cell plant outside Europe, granting its cars access to both Canadian and U.S. subsidies as it works to localise electric vehicle production chain in the region. Canada, home to a large mining sector for minerals including lithium, nickel and cobalt, is trying to woo companies involved in all levels of the EV supply chain via a multi-billion-dollar green technology fund as the world seeks to cut carbon emissions. The Canadian federal innovation minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, called the VW battery plant a "home run for Canada" and said it was "the largest single investment in the auto sector in the history of Canada", without giving details. "I think all the big manufacturers understand that if you need to green the supply chain, Canada is the place to do that," said Champagne. Chemicals giant BASF (BASFn.DE) a year ago also secured land in Canada for a planned battery materials facility to better serve electric vehicle markets in the U.S. and Mexico.

SummarySummary Companies Move comes shortly after Scout plant announcementPlant in Canada can also qualify for IRA subsidiesBASF also picked Canada for EV battery materials plantWOLFSBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) chose Canada to build its first battery cell plant outside Europe, granting its cars access to both Canadian and U.S. subsidies as it works to localise electric vehicle production chain in the region. He said Volkswagen would be making "the largest single investment in the auto sector in the history of Canada" but did not give details. The plant will be based in the city of St. Thomas, around 195 km (120 miles) northeast of Detroit. "I think all the big manufacturers understand that if you need to green the supply chain, Canada is the place to do that," said Champagne. Chemicals giant BASF (BASFn.DE) a year ago also secured land in Canada for a planned battery materials facility to better serve electric vehicle markets in the U.S. and Mexico.

☆ Exclusive: Agrofert to win EU approval to buy Borealis' nitrogen unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Reuters) - Czech group Agrofert is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its purchase of the nitrogen business of Austrian energy group OMV's (OMVV.VI) unit Borealis, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. Borealis in June last year announced the deal to sell the business, which includes fertiliser, melamine and technical nitrogen, on the basis of an enterprise value of 810 million euros ($863.5 million). Borealis is 75%-owned by energy group OMV and 25% by Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala. It finalised a turnaround programme in its fertiliser business two years ago. Agrofert has manufacturing facilities in Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and is owned by Czech ex-premier and now opposition leader Andrej Babis.

☆ ECB's Villeroy: French inflation peak seen in H1
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, March 9 (Reuters) - France's inflation peak will come in the first half of this year, French European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Thursday, adding inflation across the euro zone was still too high and remained the top priority for monetary policy. "I can't comment on interest rates, but what is very important is the inflation expectations", Villeroy said, adding: "The peak will come this semester, and then inflation will halve by the end of the year." The ECB has already raised rates by 3 percentage points since July and essentially promised another half a percentage point increase on March 16, but investors have recently speculated on an even bigger move given poor inflation data. Several policymakers have warned recently that ECB rate hikes need to continue until core inflation turns around and starts falling towards the ECB's 2% target. Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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