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[1/2] British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during the opening session of the Global Food Security Summit at Lancaster House in London, Britain November 20, 2023. Years of political churn - with five prime ministers and a non-stop ministerial carousel since the 2016 Brexit vote - have shaken Britain's reputation for stability among investors. Some executives say the country, long a magnet for FDI, has simply taken them for granted. But companies and investors say that a focus by regulators on limiting costs for bill-payers in sectors such as water, telecoms and energy has crimped investment. British investment minister Dominic Johnson said the government would be in listening mode at the gathering on Nov. 27 to hear how it can remove hurdles.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Dan Kitwood, Sunak, Emanuel Macron, Jack Paris, Paris, Jeremy Hunt, EY, Alina Osorio, Mikhail Taver, Richard Harrington, Harrington, Dominic Johnson, Johnson, Kate Holton, Sinead Cruise, Andy Bruce, Alexander Smith Organizations: British, Global Food Security, Lancaster House, Hampton Court, Partners, Reuters, European Union, United, Labour Party, India's Tata Group, Britain, AstraZeneca, Ireland, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Hampton, France, Versailles, European, Germany, United States, Europe, Delaware

China, the world's second-largest economy, is already a major investor in South America and has offered tariff-free access to its huge consumer market to four countries. But Uruguay faces opposition from other members of the Mercosur bloc who want to settle an FTA with Europe instead. By comparison, other major beef exporters Australia and New Zealand, which have FTAs with China, pay tariffs at 3.3% and 0%. The elevation of ties with Uruguay to the level of Brazil and Argentina also pushes the remaining Mercosur member Paraguay further outside China's global trade and investment network. Agriculture-dependent Paraguay, whose main exports include beef and soybeans, is the last South American nation that has ties with democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, and not with Beijing.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Luis Lacalle Pou, Florence Lo, Lacalle Pou, Xi, Joe Cash, Ryan Woo, Ella Cao, Toby Chopra, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Chizu Nomiyama, Alexander Smith Organizations: Uruguayan, of, People, REUTERS, New Development Bank BEIJING, Mercosur, South, Nations, New Development Bank, China, United, Mercosur CET, National Meat Institute of, China's National Bureau of Statistics, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil Mercosur, American, Brazil, South America, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Shanghai, United States, MERCOSUR Uruguay, Brussels, Montevideo, Mercosur, National Meat Institute of Uruguay, Paraguay, Taiwan

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to draft rules requiring Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, Meta (META.O) and other online services to identify and remove online child pornography, saying that end-to-end encryption would not be affected. EU lawmakers have to thrash out the final details with member states before the draft can become legislation in a process that may be finalised next year. An EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse will be set up to act as a hub of expertise and to forward reports to the police. To avoid mass surveillance, EU lawmakers beefed up detection orders to allow judicial authorities to authorise time-limited orders to find and delete CSAM. These can only be issued if there is reasonable grounds of suspicion of child sexual abuse.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Foo Yun Chee, Alexander Smith Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS, Rights, Google, European, European Union, EU, Liberal, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS

☆ Ex-Huawei handset maker Honor prepares IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People walk near a sign for Honor Magic Vs phone, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSHENZHEN, China, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Handset maker Honor is preparing for an initial public offering, the company said on Wednesday, three years after it was sold by U.S. sanctions-hit Huawei Technologies. Honor was first in terms of handset shipments in China in the third quarter with 11.8 million units sold, and was the second biggest seller last year, research firm Canalys said. Huawei sold Honor to a consortium of more than 30 agents and dealers in November 2020 after the U.S restricted its access to technology essential to its handset business. Reporting by David Kirton Editing by Louise Heavens, Alexander Smith and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Magic, Nacho, Canalys, David Kirton, Louise Heavens, Alexander Smith, Frances Kerry Organizations: Congress, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Huawei Technologies, Huawei, Counterpoint Research, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Rights SHENZHEN, China, Europe, U.S, Washington

☆ British tax cut spells trouble in store for next government
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt's big tax cut surprise could help the ruling Conservatives recover some favour among voters, but it threatens to store up budget problems for whichever party wins power after the expected 2024 election. Combined with his decision to make permanent the incentives for business investment announced earlier this year, Hunt's package of tax cuts would be worth about 20 billion pounds ($25 billion)a year by the 2028/29 tax year. "The giveaways announced today are funded by handing whoever wins the next election implausibly large spending cuts," Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said. Hunt is likely to remain under pressure from within his party to go further with more tax cuts in a final pre-election budget statement expected in March. "There's a material risk that those plans prove undeliverable and today's tax cuts will not prove to be sustainable," Johnson said.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Jessica Taylor, Handout, Jeremy Hunt's, Hunt, Liz, Rishi Sunak, Labour Party's, Rachel Reeves, Torsten Bell, Investec, David Jones, Paul Johnson, Johnson, William Schomberg, Elizabeth Piper, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Wednesday, Labour, Conservative, Bank of England, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, British

Amundi signed a 10-year distribution accord in 2017 when it bought UniCredit's Pioneer Investments for 3.6 billion euros. Credit Agricole CEO Philippe Brassac told reporters this month it was no secret UniCredit was looking at ways "to optimise" the accord with Amundi. Orcel, sources have said, is unhappy with the amount of Amundi funds the accord binds UniCredit to place with customers. UniCredit had 134 billion euros in AUM from fund and portfolio management as of Sept. 30. If their relationship ended after 2027, it would still take UniCredit time to replace Amundi funds with other products.

Persons: Sarah Meyssonnier, Amundi, Andrea Orcel, UniCredit, Philippe Brassac, Brassac, Orcel, Azimut, Valentina Za, Mathieu Rosemain, Silvia Aloisi, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Investments, Agricole, Credit, Amundi, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, MILAN, Italy, Italian, Milan

☆ Eutelsat OneWeb gets Indian go-ahead for satellite broadband services
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Eutelsat (ETL.PA) subsidiary Eutelsat OneWeb said on Tuesday it had won approval from India's space regulator to launch commercial satellite broadband services in the country. Prime Minister Modi's government, which is heading for elections next year, is pushing the development of India's space industry. Investors poured $119 million into Indian space startups in 2022, up from a total of just $38 million in all the years up to 2017. In March, OneWeb partnered with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to launch 36 satellites. Amazon's Project Kuiper (AMZN.O) has also been in talks with regulators to offer satellite broadband services in India, the Economic Times newspaper reported last month.

Persons: Eutelsat OneWeb, Modi's, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Eutelsat, Mittal's, Mittal, OneWeb, Elon Musk's Starlink, Nivedita, Kanjyik Ghosh, Alexander Smith Organizations: Mittal's Bharti Enterprises, Airtel, Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, Reuters, Ambani's, Economic Times, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Bengaluru

☆ ECB says property slump could last years in threat to lenders
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An ECB report which examines threats to financial stability underscored heightened concern over a property boom that is now unravelling in countries such as Germany and Sweden. Commercial property prices have been hit by economic weakness and high interest rates over the last year, challenging the sector's profitability and business model, the ECB said. The sector is not big enough to create a systemic risk for lenders, but could increase shocks across the financial system and greatly impact the financial firms, from investment funds to insurance firms, collectively known as shadow banks. The ECB issued its report as deep cracks emerged in the property market of the euro zone's top economy, Germany. Commercial real estate transactions were down 47% in the first half of 2023, compared with the same period in 2022.

Persons: René Benko, Banks, Balazs Koranyi, John O'Donnell, Barbara Lewis, Alexander Smith Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, Signa, Chrysler, Signa Group, Reuters, Raiffeisen Bank, Bank, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Sweden, Austrian, Hamburg, Austria, Bank Austria

☆ Shakira stands trial in Spain for alleged tax fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shakira poses on the red carpet during the 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards show in Seville, Spain, November 16, 2023. The 'Hips Don't Lie' Colombian megastar, who also has a second tax fraud investigation pending with Spanish authorities, has vowed to fight what she called false accusations. She rejected a settlement offer from the prosecutor's office to close the case and is expected to testify on Monday in the first of 12 hearings scheduled until Dec. 14. The prosecutor's office is seeking an up to eight-year prison term and to claim back the taxes it says she owes. Shakira, 46, lived with former Barcelona and Spain soccer star Gerard Pique for 11 years and the couple have two children.

Persons: Shakira, Marcelo del Pozo, Gerard Pique, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, Judge Jose Manuel del Amo Sanchez, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina's Lionel Messi, Diego Costa, Bayer, Xabi Alonso, Alonso, Emma Pinedo, Aislinn Laing, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Spanish, Bayer Leverkusen, Thomson Locations: Seville, Spain, Rights BARCELONA, Barcelona, Miami, Spanish

[1/2] A woman counts U.S. dollar bills at her home in Buenos Aires, Argentina August 28, 2018. Cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data on Tuesday and Wednesday hastened market expectations for how soon the Federal Reserve will cut rates. Such a move would weaken a major dollar support and could come as early as next year's first quarter. The yen - punished broadly this year by dollar strength - broke the 150 mark for the first time in nearly two weeks, gaining 0.69% to 149.68 to the dollar. Japanese authorities do not have specific exchange-rate levels in mind when deciding when to intervene in the currency market, Deputy Finance Minister Ryosei Akazawa told parliament on Friday.

Persons: Marcos Brindicci, Bipan Rai, Thierry Wizman, Wizman, Ryosei Akazawa, Lee Hardman, Robert Holzmann, Joachim Nagel, Christine Lagarde, Herbert Lash, Iain Withers, Rae Wee, Tom Westbrook, Alexander Smith, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Federal Reserve, CIBC Capital Markets, FX, Eurostat, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Buenos Aires, Argentina, North America, Toronto, United States, Macquarie, New York, Britain, London, Singapore

Electric power transmission pylon miniatures and Iberdrola logo are seen in this illustration taken, December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Spanish utility Iberdrola is planning to make an offer for Electricity North West (ENWL) that could value the British power distribution network at a maximum of 3.5 billion pounds ($4.34 billion), two sources familiar with the matter said. Iberdrola (IBE.MC) declined to comment on any involvement in the ENWL sale process, which one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said is expected to start in December. Iberdrola is ramping up its investments in electricity networks, aiming to deploy 27 billion euros until 2025, with the goal of achieving 30% growth in core earnings of its networks unit to up to 8.5 billion euros. Iberdrola expects to receive around 6 billion euros from partnerships and asset sales by the end of the year that will help it close 2023 with a net debt of around 43 billion euros, roughly in line with 2022.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jefferies, KKR spokespeople, JP Morgan, Andres Gonzalez, Pietro Lombardi, Anousha Sakoui, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Electricity, Reuters, Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co, Macquarie, KKR, ENWL, Scottish Power, Colonial First State, Iberdrola, Thomson Locations: Manchester , Lancashire, Cumbria, Iberdrola, ENWL, Merseyside , Cheshire, North Wales, North Shropshire, England, Central, Southern Scotland

☆ Morning Bid: Ebbing oil sustains economic glow
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Word "Oil" and stock graph are seen through magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022. That drop, which takes annual producer price inflation as low as 1.3%, was driven largely by falling gasoline prices. And that meets news that China's oil refinery throughput fell back in October as industrial fuel demand weakened. The overall energy and inflation picture is helping buoy consumption and stokes the 'soft landing' narrative investors are betting on. The picture in overseas markets, where the economic picture is cloudier, was more mixed.

Persons: magnifier, Dado Ruvic, Mike Dolan, stokes, Mary Daly, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Xi, Biden, Washington, Christopher Waller, Lisa Cook, John Williams, Michael Barr, Loretta Mester, Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos, Andrea Enria, Dave Ramsden, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Energy Information Administration, Walmart, Federal, San Francisco Fed, Treasury, U.S . Senate, Philadelphia Fed, Kansas City Fed, Applied, Ross Stores, Federal Reserve, Lisa Cook , New York Fed, Cleveland Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of England, New York Federal Reserve, Insider Intelligence, Reuters Graphics, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, United States, China . U.S, Target, San Francisco, Taiwan, China, Kansas, Treasuries, Lisa Cook , New, Franciso, Reuters Graphics China

☆ Focus: Giorgio Armani fashions his own legacy with succession plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Elisa Anzolin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Giorgio Armani appears at the Emporio Armani Spring/Summer 2024 collection fashion show during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 21, 2023. All are currently board members and, apart from Rosanna, all work for the Armani group. The Armani group has almost 9,000 employees. Any eventual stock market listing requires the favourable vote of the majority of directors "after the fifth year following the entry into force of this statute". The Armani group declined to comment on a potential listing in the mid-term.

Persons: Giorgio Armani, Claudia Greco, Armani, Pantaleo Dell'Orco, Guido Corbetta, Rosanna, Silvana, Roberta, Andrea Camerana, Dell'Orco, women's, Bernard Arnault, Sergio Galeotti, Hans Wilsdorf, Gucci, Corbetta, outlast, Elisa Anzolin, Keith Weir, Alexander Smith Organizations: Milan, REUTERS, Reuters, Milan's Bocconi University, Armani, Entertainment, VIP Relations, Rolex, Kering, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, MILAN

[1/2] A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Microsoft and Google will not challenge an EU law requiring them to make it easier for users to move between competing services such as social media platforms and internet browsers. As part of its latest crackdown on Big Tech, the European Union in September picked 22 "gatekeeper" services, run by six of the world's biggest tech companies, to face new rules . The Digital Markets Act (DMA) requires these gatekeepers to inter-operate their messaging apps with competitors and allow users to decide which apps they pre-install on their devices. The DMA will apply to services from Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Meta (META.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and TikTok owner ByteDance.

Persons: Paresh Dave, ByteDance, Meta, WhatsApp, TikTok, Foo Yun Chee, Supantha Mukherjee, Sharon Singleton, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Google, Big Tech, European Union, Markets, Apple, Amazon, Digital Services, European Commission, Digital Markets, Windows, LinkedIn, Industry, Reuters, Facebook, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, BRUSSELS, STOCKHOLM, Luxembourg, Brussels, Stockholm

☆ Italy Finance Minister evokes default risk to defend bank measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti attends the first voting session at the lower house of parliament to elect the new speaker in Rome, Italy, October 13, 2022. "In two or three years' time, when I may not be around but there will be a default crisis, perhaps someone will say that our government was not so crazy," Giorgetti said, without giving further details of this scenario. The average default rate for Italian companies rose for the first time in nearly decade in 2022 to stand at 2.4% in December, compared with a record low of 1.6% in December 2021, credit data company CRIF said last month. The rate has edged up in the first half of 2023 to 2.5%, CRIF added, forecasting it could get to 3% by the end of 2023. ($1 = 0.9346 euros)Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giancarlo Giorgetti, Guglielmo Mangiapane, Giorgetti, CRIF, Valentina Za, Gareth Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: Economic, REUTERS, Italian Economy, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, ROME, Italian, Europe, Israel, Ukraine, Milan

The logo of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is pictured at the entrance to its branch in Beijing, China April 1, 2019. ICBC, whose U.S. arm was hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted trades in the U.S. Treasury market on Nov. 9, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "They paid a ransom, deal closed," the Lockbit representative told Reuters via Tox, an online messaging app. "The market is mostly back to normal now," said Zhiwei Ren, a portfolio manager at Penn Mutual Asset Management. The ransomware attack came at a time of heightened worries about the resiliency of the $26 trillion Treasury market, essential to the plumbing of global finance, and is likely to draw scrutiny from regulators.

Persons: Florence, BNY Mellon, Zhiwei Ren, Ransom, Allen, James Pearson, Davide Barbuscia, Carolina Mandl, Tatiana Bautzer, Pete Schroeder, Michelle Price, David Goodman, Jonathan Oatis, Alexander Smith Organizations: Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, REUTERS, Commercial Bank of, Reuters, U.S . Treasury, Penn Mutual Asset Management, Treasury, U.S . Treasury Department, Financial, Authorities, Boeing, Overy, Washington DC, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Commercial Bank of China, U.S, Tox, United States, London, Carolina, New York, Washington

☆ Nepal to ban China's TikTok, alleges damaging social impact
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Gopal Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. TikTok has already been either partially or completely banned by other countries, with many citing security concerns. Nepal's Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said the decision to ban TikTok had been made at a cabinet meeting earlier on Monday. "Colleagues are working on closing it technically," Sharma told Reuters. Nepal's neighbour India banned TikTok along with dozens of other apps by Chinese developers in June 2020, saying that they could compromise national security and integrity.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, China's, TikTok, Technology Rekha Sharma, Sharma, Purushottam Khanal, Khanal, Pradeep Gyawali, Gopal Sharma, Sakshi Dayal, Jason Neely, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Nepal's, Communications, Technology, Reuters, Nepal Telecom, Communist Party of Nepal, Marxist, Thomson Locations: Nepal, India, Pakistan

A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. "We need to build a funding model for green tech companies," Chuka Umunna, JP Morgan's (JPM.N) head of EMEA ESG and green economy investment banking, told the Reuters Energy Transition Europe 2023 event in London. This was partly because of the capital requirements for some green tech firms in early stages of development, he said. Investment into green tech was also being stymied by bureaucracy, including delays to permitting for the infrastructure needed for renewable energy and other projects. Umunna also said a shift to a greener, lower-carbon economy offered up a huge opportunity for banks such as JP Morgan.

Persons: Morgan Chase, Mike Segar, Morgan, Umunna, JP Morgan's, JP Morgan, Simon Jessop, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, David Goodman, Alexander Smith Organizations: Co, New York City, REUTERS, EMEA, Reuters, Capital, British, Investment, Thomson Locations: New York, London, Europe

[1/2] A Tesla electric vehicle is plugged to a charger in a parking lot in Teia, north of Barcelona, Spain, October 31, 2023. High interest rates and a subdued market are putting customers off, they warned, with Volkswagen's EV order intake half what it was last year. Reuters GraphicsFALLING BEHINDCritics have long warned that a lack of affordable EVs would eventually stall the steep sales growth boosted by early adopters and corporate fleets. A weaker performance in September, consumer sentiment surveys and bleak commentary from carmakers and dealers indicates that low growth era may have arrived. "We call it the valley of death, which we will be going through in 2024 to 2027: low residual values, high supply, and low demand," Nothard added.

Persons: Albert Gea, EVs, Thomas Niedermayer, Flavia Garcia, Tom Carvell, Martina, AutoTrader, Garcia, We'll, Critics, Felipe Munoz, Alistair Bedwell, Langston, Ben DuCharme, Philip Nothard, Nothard, Victoria Waldersee, Nick Carey, Giulio Piovaccari, Paul Lienert, Sumanta Sen, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Tesla, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Benz, Reuters Graphics Dealers, Toyota, HK, Reuters Graphics, Ford, GM, United Auto Worker, JATO Dynamics, Langston, Cox Automotive, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, LONDON, Europe, Germany, Italy, Bavarian, Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, BYD, Nio, U.S, Rome, Detroit

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from U.S. equity funds tracking Saudi Arabia in October as the Middle East's worst violence in decades shook the region's business-friendly narrative. The iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF saw record net outflows in October of more than $200 million, LSEG data shows, cutting 20% from what it held at the beginning of the month. "Capital flight can be quite indiscriminate," said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal analyst for the Middle East and North Africa with Verisk Maplecroft. The iShares MSCI Qatar ETF (QAT.O) lost $7.7 million in funds in October, while the iShares MSCI UAE ETF (UAE.O) suffered outflows of $2.75 million. Nearly all the region's main economies are strong enough to weather some turmoil, investors say.

Persons: Torbjorn Soltvedt, Verisk, Natalia Gurushina, Israel, Gurushina, Bonds, Sergey Dergachev, Maplecroft, Dergachev, Libby George, Alexander Smith Organizations: Saudi Arabia ETF, . Exchange, Exchange, ARK Israel Innovative Technology, BlueStar, BlueStar Israel Technology, Hamas, Union Investment, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Israel, East, North Africa, BlueStar Israel, outflows, Saudi, London, Bengaluru

☆ Norway's Statkraft may return to British offshore wind
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Nora Buli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Statkraft AS FollowOSLO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Norway's state-owned Statkraft could return to the British offshore wind market, but its key focus remains Ireland, Norway and Sweden, its CEO told Reuters on Friday. He expected future rounds were being re-calibrated after Britain's most recent renewable energy auction failed to attract new offshore wind projects as subsidies were deemed too low and not reflecting rising costs in the industry. Statkraft is also already one of Britain's biggest onshore renewables developers, has a large office in London and knows the market well from previous offshore wind projects, he said. Still, the company's main focus for offshore wind is Ireland, where it is developing 2.2 gigawatts (GW) together with partner Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. It also plans to participate in Norway's first offshore wind auctions and in October bought Swedish Njordr Offshore Wind, which has an early-stage development pipeline of 21 GW.

Persons: Phil Noble, Toennesen, Statkraft, Nora Buli, Alexander Smith Organizations: Burbo, REUTERS, OSLO, Reuters, Dogger Bank, Triton, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Thomson Locations: Mersey, Liverpool, Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, London, Dudgeon, Sheringham, England

☆ Spirits giant Diageo's shares suffer Latin American hangover
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Eva Mathews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Macroeconomic pressures in the region are resulting in lower consumption and consumer downtrading," the world's biggest spirits maker said. Last month, Mexico's Becle (CUERVO.MX), the world's largest tequila producer, said economic challenges in Europe and Latin America were slowing customer spending on liquor, which battered its profits. "Over time, as inflation moderates and productivity from our supply agility program flow through, we expect operating profit to grow ahead of organic net sales growth," Diageo said. Diageo narrowly beat earnings estimates for the year ended June 30, as sales of its more expensive liquor brands offset lower volumes. Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Clodagh, Johnnie Walker, Julio, Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Mexico's, Eva Mathews, Rashmi Aich, Emelia, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Caribbean ., Diageo, Thomson Locations: Dublin, Ireland, North America, Africa, Latin America, Europe, America, Bengaluru

[1/2] People walk past a booth of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), in Beijing, China September 5, 2020. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that business remained normal at ICBC head office, other branches and subsidiaries across the globe. Some market participants said trades going through ICBC were not settled due to the incident and that market liquidity had been affected. ICBC said it had successfully cleared Treasury trades executed on Wednesday and repurchase agreements (repo) financing trades done on Thursday. While market sources said on Thursday the impact of the ICBC hack appeared limited, the attack underlined how vulnerable systems at large organizations continue to be.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, ICBC, Wang Wenbin, Wang, Jerome Powell, Lockbit, Harry Robertson, Yoruk, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alexander Smith Organizations: Asset Management, Fair for Trade, Services, REUTERS, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Global, ICBC's, Authority, Traders, U.S . Treasury, Federal, Treasury, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, China's, ICBC's U.S, Europe, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Amsterdam

ICBC's U.S. unit told market participants on Friday it was hoping to finish the cyber review over the weekend, but the sources said they expected it would spill into next week. The cyberattack sent ripples through the U.S. Treasuries market, where ICBC acts as a broker for hedge funds and other market participants, helping them trade in the securities. The Chinese parent then injected capital into the U.S. unit, allowing it to settle the trades and pay back BNY Mellon, the sources said. They also told market participants about the capital injection but did not disclose the amount or the reason for it, the sources said. SIFMA, the trade group, organized calls for market participants with updates, the sources said.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, BNY Mellon, ransomware, ICBC, SIFMA, Janet Yellen, Lifeng, Scott Skyrm, Jack McIntyre, Harry Robertson, James Pearson, Naomi Rovinick, Yoruk, Davide Barbuscia, Chris Prentice, Mike Derby, Carolina Mandl, Laura Matthews, Paritosh, Zeba, Megan Davies, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alexander Smith, Richard Chang, Anna Driver Organizations: Asset Management, Fair for Trade, Services, REUTERS, Commercial Bank of China, U.S ., ICBC Financial Services, Securities Industry, Financial Markets Association, ICBC, Treasury, China, U.S, New York Federal Reserve, Securities, Depository Trust, Clearing Corp, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, ICBC's U.S, U.S, San Francisco, Treasuries, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Amsterdam, Carolina, New York

Sustainability-linked loans (SLL), which were first used in 2017, offer slightly cheaper borrowing, typically around 2.5-10 basis points less, if companies meet goals such as cutting their carbon emissions or improving board diversity. These let banks strip the sustainability-linked label from the loans if targets are no longer deemed appropriate. The banks' tougher standards are discouraging some borrowers from using SLLs entirely, bankers and lawyers told Reuters. The Engie spokesman said the utility would not agree to linking an event of default to sustainability targets. "We have stated our willingness to walk away when sustainability targets were too soft," said Brittany Agostino, vice president in the environmental, social and governance group at Los Angeles-based Ares.

Persons: Toby Melville, Banks, Constance Chalchat, Pascale Forde Maurice, Elliot Beard, Simmons, Beard, I've, David Milligan, Norton Rose Fulbright, Gemma Lawrence, Pardew, Brittany Agostino, Fredrik Altmann, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Isla Binnie, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Simon Jessop, Alexander Smith Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, LONDON, BNP, Corporate, Institutional Banking, Reuters, JPMorgan, Ford Motors, SLLs, CIB's, European, Sustainable Investment Banking, Simmons, Norton Rose, Market Association, BMW, Porsche, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, North America, Asia, Los Angeles, New York

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