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March 28 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday refused to transfer to another court a lawsuit by Republican states challenging a Biden administration rule allowing socially conscious investing by retirement plans, rejecting claims of "judge shopping." U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, said the Biden administration had provided no evidence that the litigation did not belong in his court or that plaintiffs were attempting to manipulate the process. His courthouse has become a favored destination for Republicans seeking to challenge aspects of Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda. The Labor Department argues the rule is valid because it still requires retirement plans to consider traditional financial factors when choosing investments. Congress in early March voted to repeal the ESG rule, but Biden vetoed that bill.

☆ File Raiffeisen’s sanctions-bypass idea in the bin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Raiffeisen Bank International thinks it may have found a clever way to repatriate a small part of its Russian assets. Hence the idea to swap its stranded roubles against the frozen euros accumulated by Sberbank, the Kremlin-owned bank forced to unwind its operations by the war in Ukraine. Up to 400 million euros of its assets are now sitting idle in a frozen fund. Promoters of the idea, now being tested with regulators, reckon this might conform with sanctions because the swap would not involve sending hard currency to Russia. In reality, it would allow Russia’s largest bank to recover its frozen money, opening a massive loophole in the sanctions regime.

☆ Singapore's Sea Group turns profitable for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sea Limited's e-commerce arm, Shopee, turned positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2022. The group also posted its first-ever positive net income in the quarter. The chairman and group CEO of Sea Limited, said on Tuesday that 2022 was "another year of evolution for us." Shopee and SeaMoneyMeanwhile, e-commerce business Shopee and digital payments arm SeaMoney continued to see strong growth in 2022. Positive EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, refers to the company operating at a profitable level.

☆ Shell CEO creates chief of staff role in management overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Chief of staff to oversee performance improvementAppointment to be announced in MarchShell profits hit record, but costs set to riseLONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan has created a senior role of chief of staff as part of a management overhaul to improve performance after technical problems and other disruption, three company sources said. The chief of staff, the first in Shell's 115-year-old history, is the biggest change Sawan has made to top management since he took office on Jan. 1 with a promise to boost the company's performance. Sawan announced the role of chief of staff and corporate relations in an internal memo last week, the sources said. A Shell spokesperson confirmed the role has been created, without adding details. Sawan has said he will improve Shell's performance and efficiency as it attempts to shift towards low-carbon energy and cut greenhouse emissions in the coming decades.

☆ AT&T seeks to shed cybersecurity division, sources tell Reuters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

AT&T Inc , the second-biggest U.S. wireless carrier, is exploring a sale of its cybersecurity division, potentially undoing an acquisition it completed five years ago, according to people familiar with the matter. The sale of the cybersecurity business would add to a string of divestments AT&T has turned to in order to pay down debt following its $108.7 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc in 2018, a deal it has since also unwound. The sources cautioned that no deal is certain and requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. AT&T's cybersecurity division helps small-to-medium-sized businesses keep their information technology networks, including laptops, desktops, servers and mobile devices, secure. The acquisition of Alienvault was aimed at giving AT&T an edge in signing up and retaining corporate clients, but the deal's rationale has eroded as cybersecurity startups that offer cheap alternatives mushroomed.

☆ AT&T seeks to shed cybersecurity division -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Milana Vinn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc (T.N), the second-biggest U.S. wireless carrier, is exploring a sale of its cybersecurity division, potentially undoing an acquisition it completed five years ago, according to people familiar with the matter. The sale of the cybersecurity business would add to a string of divestments AT&T has turned to in order to pay down debt following its $108.7 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc in 2018, a deal it has since also unwound. AT&T has been working with Barclays Plc (BARC.L) to solicit potential bids for its cybersecurity business, which was called Alienvault when it was acquired in 2018 in a roughly $600 million deal, the sources said. The sources cautioned that no deal is certain and requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. AT&T's cybersecurity division helps small-to-medium-sized businesses keep their information technology networks, including laptops, desktops, servers and mobile devices, secure.

☆ KKR reports 42% drop in earnings on lower asset sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter after-tax distributable earnings dropped 42% year-on-year, driven by asset sale declines in its private equity portfolio and lower transaction fees in the capital markets division. KKR and other private equity firms struggled to sell assets for top dollar for much of the last year due to market volatility, rising inflation, recession worries and geopolitical tensions. Transaction fees from its capital markets business, which collects lucrative fees for arranging financing for KKR portfolio companies, declined by 55% to $144.4 million. During the quarter, KKR said its private equity portfolio was flat in value, while opportunistic real estate funds depreciated by 8%. By contrast, Blackstone Inc (BX.N) had reported that its opportunistic and core real estate funds depreciated by 2% and 1.5%, respectively, while its corporate private equity funds gained 3.8%.

☆ As Deal Making Picks Up, Tech Chiefs Worry About Software Integration
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

That is a potentially costly process that can require overhauling existing enterprise tech stacks, or even hiring high-priced experts to manage new IT tools, analysts said. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS How can tech executives smooth the integration of new digital tools when their vendors make acquisitions? Hewlett Packard Enterprise this month said it acquired Pachyderm and would integrate new software tools into its enterprise-tech platform. HPE this month said it acquired Pachyderm, a San Francisco-based software startup, and would integrate the new software tools into its enterprise-tech platform. “Our existing customer base will want to know they won’t be forced to replace an existing technology they already buy,” Mr. Hotard said.

☆ IBM cuts 3,900 jobs, misses annual cash target
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - IBM Corp (IBM.N) on Wednesday announced 3,900 layoffs as part of some asset divestments and missed its annual cash target, dampening cheer around beating revenue expectations in the fourth quarter. Analysts said news of the job cuts and free cash flow miss was behind the drop. read moreIBM's 2022 cash flow was $9.3 billion, below its target of $10 billion, due to higher-than-expected working capital needs. In October, IBM flagged softness in new bookings in Western Europe while peer Accenture Plc noted weakness in its consulting business. For 2022, IBM recorded revenue growth of 5.5%, its highest in a decade.

☆ Want to cash in on China's reopening? Bank of America and UBS have some less obvious stock picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

China's unwinding of its strict Covid-19 controls has got analysts scrambling to identify reopening beneficiaries in the stock market. But there could be another way to play the reopening, with Bank of America and UBS having identified a raft of less obvious beneficiaries outside of China. UBS' stock picks Thai hospitality group Minor International is one of UBS' top picks. Within Thailand, UBS also named rail transit operator BTS Group, expressway and metro operator Bangkok Expressway & Metro, as well as Bangkok Bank as reopening beneficiaries. Student placement provider IDP Education, as well as property groups Lendlease Group and Mirvac Group also made the UBS list.

☆ Tech Chiefs Fear ‘Frankenstein’ Software Integrations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Microsoft Corp. this month said it plans to incorporate AI into all of its enterprise software, while boosting its multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, the startup behind chatbot ChatGPT. That is a potentially costly process that can require overhauling existing enterprise tech stacks, or even hiring high-priced experts to manage new IT tools, analysts said. Hewlett Packard Enterprise this month said it acquired Pachyderm and would integrate new software tools into its enterprise-tech platform. HPE this month said it acquired Pachyderm, a San Francisco-based software startup, and would integrate the new software tools into its enterprise-tech platform. “Our existing customer base will want to know they won’t be forced to replace an existing technology they already buy,” Mr. Hotard said.

☆ IBM cuts 3,900 jobs after muted consulting demand hits quarterly revenue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - IBM Corp (IBM.N) on Wednesday said it would lay off 3,900 people as part of some asset divestments and posted flat fourth-quarter revenue due to lackluster demand for its consulting services. The resulting layoffs will cause a $300 million charge in the January-March period, IBM said. IBM in October flagged softness in new bookings in Western Europe while peer Accenture Plc also noted weakness in its consulting business. Still, Kavanaugh said that the company is seeing its consulting business grow in terms of cloud spending. Total revenue was $16.69 billion in the period, compared with analysts' estimates of $16.40 billion, according to Refinitiv.

☆ ABB sells its power conversion division for $505 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Jan 20 (Reuters) - ABB (ABBN.S) has sold its power conversion business to AcBel Polytech Inc (6282.TW) for $505 million, the Swiss engineering and technology company said on Friday. ABB said it expects to make a small non-operational book gain from the sale of the United-States-based Power Conversion business, which provides products for telecoms, data centres and general industry. Chief Executive Bjorn Rosengren said he was "delighted" with the deal which completed divisional portfolio divestments announced by ABB at the end of 2020. Power Conversion was acquired by ABB as part of the GE Industrial Solutions acquisition in 2018 and was not core to ABB, the company said. It generated revenues of approximately $440 million and income from operations of approximately $50 million in 2022.

☆ Ericsson shares slide as fourth-quarter earnings disappoint
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The company has already announced plans to cut costs by 9 billion crowns ($880 million) by the end of 2023. The company's net sales rose in the fourth quarter, but margins, net income and core earnings fell. The company's fourth-quarter adjusted operating earnings, excluding restructuring charges, fell to 9.3 billion Swedish crowns from 12.8 billion a year earlier. Net sales rose 21% to 86 billion crowns, beating estimates of 84.2 billion. A settlement of a patent deal with Apple (AAPL.O) last month resulted in revenue of 6 billion crowns, but Ericsson also took 4 billion crowns in charges, including a provision for a potential fine from U.S. regulators and divestments.

☆ Ericsson earnings miss as slowing U.S. market hits margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It has also announced plans to cut costs by 9 billion crowns ($880 million) by the end of 2023. Ericsson expects a margin fall seen in its Networks business to persist through the first half of 2023 but the effect of cost savings to emerge in the second quarter. The company's fourth-quarter adjusted operating earnings excluding restructuring charges fell to 9.3 billion Swedish crowns ($902 million) from 12.8 billion a year earlier. Net sales rose 21% to 86 billion crowns, beating estimates of 84.2 billion. A settlement of a patent deal with Apple (AAPL.O) last month resulted in revenue of 6 billion crowns, but Ericsson also took 4 billion crowns in charges, including a provision for a potential fine from U.S. regulators and divestments.

☆ Mike Ashley's Frasers buys JD Sports' premium fashion brands for $58 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 16 (Reuters) - British retailer Frasers Group (FRAS.L) said on Friday it has bought shares in premium fashion brands of JD Sports (JD.L) for about 47.5 million pounds ($57.7 million), as the Mike Ashley-owned company continues its drive into a more premium market. Frasers, formerly called Sports Direct, also acquired and transferred shares of more than 10 of the premium fashion brands, including Pretty Green, Cricket and Topgrade Sportswear, which the sports retailer held. JD Sports, in a separate statement, said it has divested 15 of its UK-based businesses to Frasers. JD Sports said these divestments will allow the company to focus on the international and digital expansion of the core premium sports fashion platforms. Frasers, which is on an acquisition spree, recently boosted its maximum exposure to German fashion house Hugo Boss (BOSSn.DE) and snapped up a more than 5% stake in struggling British online fashion retailer ASOS (ASOS.L).

☆ Citi to wind down consumer banking in China, affecting about 1,200 staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Xie Yu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) will wind down its consumer banking business in China in a move that will affect about 1,200 local employees, the bank said on Thursday. The exit will also affect deposits, insurance, mortgages, investments, loans and cards at the consumer banking business. As part of the wind down process, Citi will continue to pursue sales of portfolios within its Chinese consumer banking business, the statement said. It plans to hire around 3,000 staff for its Asia institutional business in the next few years, Asia-Pacific CEO Peter Babej told Reuters in June. Citi said last year that $7 billion in capital released from divestments of consumer banking businesses would be either returned to shareholders or invested in institutional banking and wealth management units.

☆ After years of arguing, Congress is finally letting the US Air Force send some A-10 Warthogs to the boneyard
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Thomas Novelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The defense policy bill for 2023 will allow the US Air Force to retire 21 A-10 Warthogs. The Air Force has wanted to get rid A-10s for years, but Congress has blocked it from doing so. The Air Force has another 260 A-10s in service, but lawmakers may be more open to scrapping them. That Air National Guard wing previously flew earlier models of the F-16 until they were replaced — to much fanfare — with the Warthog back in 2010. Airmen reconfigure weapons on an A-10 during an exercise at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida in November 2019.

☆ Deutsche Bank's DWS plans divestments and special dividend
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The fund manager also said it would propose a dividend of up to 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion) in 2024. "We are committed to self-funding our changes by reallocating financial resources freed up by divestments, delayering and cost initiatives," he said in a statement. As new targets, DWS is aiming for earnings per share of 4.50 euros by 2025 and an adjusted cost-to-income ratio of below 59%. That compares with 2021, which was a particularly strong year, of 3.90 euros per share and a record low cost-to-income ratio of 58.1%. ($1 = 0.9572 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kroger's stock is a solid bet, with or without the Albertsons' deal, Bernstein says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Analyst Dean Rosenblum said he's bullish on Kroger without the deal, seeing 25% potential upside for the stock from Tuesday's close. Although the grocery market is highly fragmented, Kroger and Albertsons are two of its biggest players. Says 90% chance the deal will close Rosenblum said he has "pretty high-conviction" that the deal will close, based on his research. Once the deal closes, Albertsons shares should be worth about $27, based on the deal price, net a special dividend the company plans to pay as part of the transaction. The bigger picture Beyond the strategic reasons for the Kroger-Albertsons deal, Rosenblum also sees reasons to be optimistic about both grocery and home improvement sectors.

☆ Spain's Sacyr sees motorways fuelling double-digit core profit growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Motorways recently completed in several Latin American countries and in Italy, along with three more transport projects that will be ready by 2023, should provide the world's fourth-largest transport concession group with steady cash flow for the next 25 years. Most of Sacyr's concession contracts are tied to inflation and have a mechanism making them less dependent on traffic volumes. The divestment plan would bring additional funds to speed up growth in its concession infrastructure businesses mainly in continental Europe, Britain, Australia and Canada. The CFO ruled out a total exit from the water business as it looks to take advantage of opportunities for new water supply units in Central Europe, the United States and Australia amid widening droughts. ($1 = 0.9707 euros)Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Andrei Khalip, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Private equity firm TPG reports 60% drop in earnings as asset sales plummet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Fee-related earnings beat estimatesTPG's stock rises nearly 8%NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG Inc (TPG.O) said on Wednesday its after-tax quarterly distributable earnings fell more than 60% due to a plunge in asset sales across its private equity, growth, real estate and impact businesses. However, TPG's fee-related earnings, a closely watched measure that captures income from management fees, was flat at $121 million. "What we're seeing is that investors don't care so much about performance fees but about fee-related earnings and its growth trajectory," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Rufus Hone. "Fee-related earnings is predictable; every dollar of fee-related earnings is worth $2 of performance fees," Hone added. During the quarter, TPG said its private equity funds appreciated by 2.3%, growth funds rose by 3.8% and impact funds were up 2.9%, though real estate funds depreciated by 0.4%.

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Global credit rating agency Moody's downgraded Fosun International Ltd (0656.HK) by one notch on Tuesday and revised its outlook to "negative" from "ratings under review" amid concerns over the firm's accelerated asset sales. Fosun and its units had earlier cut stakes in firms such as New China Life Insurance (601336.SS) and Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Group (600655.SS). Fosun, controlled by billionaire entrepreneur Guo Guangchang, was once one of China's most aggressive dealmakers overseas, buying high-profile assets including resort brand Club Med. Fosun's cash on hand at the holding company level is insufficient to cover its short-term debt maturing over the next 12 months, Moody's added. Fosun also expects to gradually repay the outstanding senior notes and increase borrowings from banks, the report said.

☆ Credit Suisse sale of Allfunds stake raises 334 mln euros - bookrunner
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) has placed an 8.6% stake in Allfunds Group (ALLFG.AS) via an accelerated bookbuilding offering that was priced at 6.195 euros a share, raising 334 million euros ($326.2 million), a bookrunner said on Friday. The deal comes as Credit Suisse races to firm up asset sales that could limit the cash it needs from investors with just days to go before the bank unveils an overhaul. read moreThe Swiss bank's securitised products business from its investment bank is also up for sale, and it has launched a process that could include selling its U.S. asset management arm, a source told Reuters. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterNegotiations on divestments will likely take until the last minute before the revamp is announced along with third-quarter results on Oct. 27. ($1 = 1.0239 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Michael Shields and Noele IllienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blackstone's earnings fall 16% on sharp drop in asset sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Blackstone Inc (BX.N), the world's largest alternative asset manager, said on Thursday its third-quarter distributable earnings fell 16% year-on-year, owing to a sharp drop in asset sales amid a downturn in the market. Distributable earnings — the cash used to pay dividends to shareholders — fell to $1.4 billion from $1.6 billion a year earlier. Financial markets have been rocked by geopolitical unrest from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising interest rates by central banks, which have prevented private equity firms like Blackstone from cashing out their investments for top dollar. During the quarter, Blackstone said its opportunistic real estate funds fell 0.6%, corporate private equity funds depreciated by 0.3%, and hedge funds gained 1%. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Chibuike Oguh in New YorkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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