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BENGALURU, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Indian carmaker Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) beat analysts' expectations to post a profit for the first time in two years as improving semiconductor chip supplies and rising demand helped its luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) turn profitable. Like others in the sector, Tata Motors and JLR have been struggling to navigate supply chain disruptions and shortages of critical semiconductor components since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The total number of orders reached a record 215,000 units with its three most profitable models - the New Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender - accounting for three-quarters of the order book. [1/5] A member of staff works on the production line at Jaguar Land Rover’s factory in Solihull, Britain, December 15, 2022. Analysts, on average, had expected a loss of 185.6 million rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

☆ European shares slip as business activity data underwhelms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Sruthi Shankar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) dropped 0.1% despite a strong finish on Wall Street where battered technology stocks continued their rebound. European stocks hit a nine-month peak last week on hopes of a milder recession in Europe and smaller interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve. However, hawkish comments from ECB policymakers have helped cement bets of two 50 basis point interest rate rises at each of its next two meetings, with one scheduled next week. Shares of Norwegian salmon farmers SalMar (SALM.OL) and Mowi (MOWI.OL) jumped 6.2% and 2.8%, respectively, to top the STOXX 600. Traders pointed to a media report suggesting adjustments to the centre-left government's salmon tax hike proposal, which has weighed on the sector.

☆ European shares steady ahead of PMI data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - European stocks edged higher on Tuesday, boosted by a fresh run of gains for technology stocks, while investors awaited economic data that is expected to show a slight improvement in euro zone business activity. S&P Global's flash reading, due at 0900 GMT, is expected to show the euro zone flash composite PMI edged up to 49.8 in January, a small improvement from 49.3 in December, as energy prices dropped and inflation moderated. Among stocks, Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) added 1.2% after the German defence group's chief executive forecast sales would grow to 11-12 billion euros ($12-$13 billion) in 2025, according to German magazine Stern. Shares of Norwegian salmon farmers SalMar (SALM.OL) and Mowi (MOWI.OL) jumped 4.7% and 9.1%, respectively, to top the STOXX 600. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Anushree FadnavisJan 24 (Reuters) - India is likely to peg its nominal gross domestic product (GDP) growth at around 11% in the annual budget next week, marking a slowdown from its estimate for the current fiscal year due to the prospect of weak exports, two government officials said. Nominal GDP growth — which includes inflation and is the benchmark used to estimate tax collections — could be pressured by suppressed external demand next year due to a likely U.S. recession, said the sources, who declined to be named as discussions are not yet public. The government expects nominal growth of 15.4% for the current fiscal year that ends on March 31. With nominal GDP of 10.6%-11%, India's gross tax collection growth rate is likely to be around 8% in 2023/24, compared with 14.5% in the current year, due to base effect, said Gaura Sengupta, an economist at IDFC First Bank. The real GDP growth is expected to be pegged at 6.0%-6.5% in the Economic Survey of 2022/23, one of the officials said.

☆ Inside the private meeting at Jack Ma's apartment where he plotted to take on Silicon Valley with a trusted 'ragtag bunch' of early employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Brian A. Wong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In one apartment, Jack, Lucy Peng, and a few other leaders worked alongside the firm's engineers. Everyone's enthusiasm flowed from their strong identification with the company's mission and Jack's vision, and if it was part of our mission, all believed, it was certainly achievable. In fact, in time, I would grow to better understand and more deeply embrace Alibaba's mission, vision, and values and the way they motivated our people. That's what Savio Kwan, Alibaba's first COO, did, codifying Jack's ideas into our company mission, vision, and values. Their efforts would form the basis of Alibaba's core mission, vision, and values statement— the guiding force or beliefs for Alibaba's development then and now.

☆ Airbus seeks outside investment for solar-powered Zephyr drone programme
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) said on Monday it was seeking outside investment for its high-altitude surveillance and communications drone programme Zephyr, in a bid to scale the business and accelerate its commercialization. The solar-powered Zephyr drone is designed to linger at an altitude of about 70,000 feet (21 kilometres) for months at a time for surveillance or to provide a temporary boost to communications. "Airbus plans to maintain ownership in Aalto, but will consider outside investment to help accelerate the company's objectives." The Financial Times newspaper, which first reported the news on Monday, said that Airbus was planning to spin off the drone unit with the aim of starting commercial operations by the end of next year. Sameer Halawi, who has been leading the programme since last summer, told FT that the Zephyr was "at a final design stage".

☆ Airbus plans to spin off Zephyr drone programme -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) is looking to spin off its high-altitude surveillance and communications drone programme Zephyr, with the aim of starting commercial operations by the end of next year, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The solar-powered Zephyr drone is designed to linger at an altitude of about 70,000 feet (21 kilometres) for months at a time for surveillance or to provide a temporary boost to communications. Sameer Halawi who has been leading the programme since last summer told FT that the Zephyr was "at a final design stage." "The idea of the carve-out is to bring like-minded partners to the equation and to be able to scale this business," said Halawi, adding Airbus does not offer telecom services. Reporting by Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India New Issue HDFC to issue 10-year bonds - traders
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The housing finance company has invited coupon and commitment bids from bankers and investors on Tuesday, they added. The issue will also have a greenshoe option to retain an additional 20 billion rupees and will close for subscription later this week. The bonds are rated AAA by CRISIL and will have a put option at the end of the third year. Last week, Reuters had reported that the housing financier plans to tap the bond market after a gap of two months. In November, HDFC raised 19 billion rupees through bonds maturing in 10 years at an annual coupon of 7.79%.

MUMBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to extend its gains this week, while government bond yields may move marginally higher due to worries about yet another year of elevated borrowing. The local unit is likely to add to its momentum and trade in a broad 80.50-81.50 range this week, analysts said. Despite the corporate flows in the market, steady foreign investment into equities is more important, so it seems appropriate for the rupee to trade around those levels, Biswas added. Market participants expect the benchmark bond yield to trade in the 7.30%-7.40% band this week. The Reserve Bank of India will auction 40 billion rupees each of five- and 10-year green bonds on Wednesday.

☆ India court quashes write-off of Yes Bank's AT1 bonds -legal sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jayshree Pyasi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The Bombay High Court, in an oral pronouncement on Friday, quashed the write-off of additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds issued by Yes Bank Ltd (YESB.NS), said legal sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The final order is yet to be uploaded on the court website and the bank can choose to appeal in Supreme Court. The bonds were written off as part of a restructuring plan to rescue Yes Bank in March 2020. This feature was invoked in the case of Yes Bank. "The Court has granted Yes Bank 6 weeks to implement the order," said Sinha.

☆ Furniture retailer Wayfair to lay off 10% of workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Online furniture retailer Wayfair Inc (W.N) said on Friday it will cut 1,750 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as part of its cost savings plan at a time when consumers are selective with their discretionary purchases. Wayfair said on Friday the job cuts will affect about 1,200, or 18% of corporate employees. The company previously outlined a $1.4 billion cost savings plan in a bid to scale down on operating costs amid weakening demand for its furnishings. Including the August workforce reduction, the company said on Friday the labor portion of the plan represents about $750 million in savings. Wayfair had 16,681 full-time equivalent employees as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to a regulatory filing.

☆ India's foreign exchange reserves rise to 5-month high
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) rose to $572 billion in the week through Jan. 13, their highest level since early August last year, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday. That is higher than the country's reserves of $561.58 billion for the week ended Jan. 6, and the more-than-two-year low of $524.52 billion hit in October 2022. The central bank has, in the past, said that changes in reserves also stem from valuation gains or losses. The rupee marked its best trading week in two months in the week ended Jan. 13 as it appreciated sharply on breaking out of a tight range. It continued to gain, albeit at a slower pace, in the current week ending Jan. 20.

☆ Miners, energy firms drag FTSE 100 lower; Dr Martens hits record low
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 sheds 0.6%, FTSE 250 off 1.0%Deliveroo achieves breakeven in second halfBoohoo's Christmas revenue drops 11%Dr Martens sinks to FTSE 250 bottom on annual profit warningJan 19 (Reuters) - UK's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, with energy firms and material stocks dragging the benchmark index lower, while shares of bootmaker Dr Martens slumped to a record low after its annual profit warning. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) slid 0.6%, while the domestically-oriented FTSE 250 (.FTMC) shed 1.0%. Energy heavyweights Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) fell below 1.7%, while industrial miners (.FTNMX551020) shed 1.8% as crude and copper prices declined after disappointing U.S. economic data and on worries about a hawkish Federal Reserve. Dr Martens (DOCS.L) sank 23.6%, after it warned of a lower annual profit and revenue due to operational issues at its new U.S. distribution centre. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Davos 2023: LME CEO says nickel reforms to be implemented 'relatively quickly'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Divya Chowdhury | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) will implement recommendations on accountability and position limits "relatively quickly" from an independent review of last year's nickel crisis to prevent market distortions and improve risk monitoring, its chief executive officer said on Wednesday. "The recommendations around accountability levels and position limits are particularly important, are broadly rules-based, so could be brought about quite quickly," LME CEO Matthew Chamberlain said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The LME, the world's largest and oldest metals forum, annulled all nickel trades on that day, for which it is facing legal action, and suspended the market for the first time since 1988. Independent consultancy Oliver Wyman was appointed by the LME to carry out a review of the debacle. He said the LME plans to make its platform more attractive to traders by not increasing fees in 2023 "even with inflation".

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Heavy electrical company ABB Ltd (ABBN.S) Chairman Peter Voser sees his firm acquiring between five to 10 small-to-medium enterprises a year to add to the company's organic business, he said on Monday. "Each division of ABB should be active in organic and inorganic strategies, which would see ABB acquiring between five to 10 small-to-medium business every year," Voser told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting at Davos. Zurich-based ABB raised around 200 million Swiss francs in November, which at the time was around $209 million, from selling an 8% stake in its EV charging business. "We are constantly looking at both opportunities of further private placements and/or floating, but we are under no pressure," Voser said. That's fair to say, given the population and the economies there, but I wouldn't underestimate the growth potential in the U.S.," Voser said.

"The idea that somehow cryptos are going to maintain value, while the fiat currencies collapse. That's nonsense," Rajan said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The wider crypto market shrank by $1.4 trillion in 2022 with bitcoin losing 60% of its value. One cause for worry, however, could be that labor markets were tight as nobody wanted to fire people, given how hard it was to hire them to begin with, he said. For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing here(Join GMF, a chat room hosted on Refinitiv Messenger: https://refini.tv/33uoFoQ)Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Davos and Savio Shetty in Mumbai; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto exchange Coinbase says to halt operations in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Crypto exchange Coinbase says it will halt Japan operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) on Wednesday said it will halt operations in Japan due to volatile market conditions. All Coinbase Japan customers will have until Feb. 16 to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings, the company said in a blog post. Coinbase's decision to exit comes only a few weeks after rival exchange Kraken said it, too, would cease its operations in Japan this month. Several firms have suffered from waning investor appetite for crypto after major exchange FTX blew up in September. The crypto sector's woes have continued this year, marked by plunging deposits, layoffs and multiple legal hurdles.

Jan 17 (Reuters) - EY Global expects favourable market conditions by the end of this year or early 2024 to list its consulting and a part of the tax business if a proposed split of its accounting and consultancy arms is approved, a company official said on Tuesday. "(The split) will involve a debt raise, and a form of capital transaction - both of those are influenced by market conditions," said Andy Baldwin, global managing partner-client service at EY. The vote, which will take place in around 77 countries, is "probably one of the most complex in corporate history", Baldwin said. He also said that the exchanges to list the business were still under consideration, adding that it was expected to be a "$25 billion plus start-up from the get go". Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Davos, Savio Shetty in Mumbai and Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Emerson makes $7.6 bln offer for NI Corp public after rebuffed approaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. industrial and software firm Emerson Electric Co (EMR.N) on Tuesday made public its offer to buy NI Corp (NATI.O) in a deal with an enterprise value of $7.6 billion after the automated testing equipment maker rebuffed earlier approaches. The software firm's all-cash bid of $53 per share represents a premium of about 13% to NI's close on Friday. Shares of NI were up 13%, at the offer price, in trading before the bell, while Emerson fell 4%. Texas-based NI, formerly known as National Instruments, specializes in making automated testing and measurement tools to aid in research and validation of new technologies. Emerson said NI has not engaged 'meaningfully' since its bid of $53 per share was made privately in November.

☆ Analysis: India's rising home prices, rentals a new inflation threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Siddhi Nayak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Housing rentals and ancillary costs have a 10.07% weightage in India's consumer price inflation basket and are near three-year highs, posing a fresh worry for the central bank that had to contend with rising food prices for most of last year. Urban housing inflation rose to 4.47% year-on-year in December 2022, versus 3.61% in the same period a year ago and 3.21% in December 2020, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. "Core inflation has continued to remain sticky and hence an increase in housing inflation poses a significant risk to the overall inflation outlook," said Aditi Gupta, an economist at Bank of Baroda. While housing prices are not part of the consumer price inflation basket, their effect is captured through construction and raw material prices, and analysts do not expect a slowdown any time soon. Analysts said rising house prices would also feed into higher demand for services like electricity and repairs, ultimately working their way into the overall inflation basket.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Job cuts are not "top of mind" for Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO), Canada's largest insurer, as it sees significant growth opportunities, fuelled particularly by Asia, CEO Roy Gori said on Monday. "We are in growth mode," Gori told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, adding that his firm has been increasing headcount. "We are growing at more than double or triple the GDP in most of the markets that we operate in. That means that we're investing organically to grow our business and ... possibly looking at inorganic opportunities for growth as well." The prospect of an imminent global recession cast a long shadow over Davos on Monday as participants counted the likely cost for their economies and businesses.

With 73% of chief executives around the world expecting global economic growth to decline over the next 12 months, this gloomy view is the most pessimistic CEOs have been since PwC began the survey more than a decade ago, it said on Monday. The survey also found that companies are cutting costs, even as many do not plan to reduce headcount or compensation in the fight to retain talent. Separately, two-thirds of private and public sector chief economists surveyed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) expect a global recession in 2023. Other highlights from the PwC survey include:- Half the CEOs reported reducing operating costs, 51% said they were raising prices, and 48% were diversifying product and service offerings. - Climate risk did not feature as prominently as a short-term risk over the next 12 months relative to other global risks.

☆ Google-backed ShareChat cuts 20% of workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Aditya Kalra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 16 (Reuters) - India's ShareChat, a short video-sharing platform backed by Google (GOOGL.O) and Temasek, said on Monday it let go of around 20% of its employees at a time when startups are facing increasing pressure from investors to cut costs. Bengaluru-based ShareChat is valued at $5 billion, has more than 2,200 employees and is "spreading its team globally across India, USA and Europe," according to its website. It was not immediately clear if the company has updated its website since the decision to reduce its workforce. Investors have become more circumspect of high valuations in a turbulent stock market that has hammered tech shares across the globe. Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Writing by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BofA profit beats estimates as higher rates bolster interest income
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) reported a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Friday, helped by a surge in net interest income as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates through most of last year. Bank of America's net interest income (NII) — a metric that measures the difference between the interest earned on loans and paid out on deposits — surged 29% to $14.7 billion in the quarter. Its profit applicable to common shareholders rose 2% to $6.9 billion, or 85 cents per share. The bank added $403 million to its net reserve build. That compares with a net reserve release of $851 million a year ago.

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