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☆ London stocks fall as fears of a banking crisis linger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Banks fall as fears of a banking crisis spikeEnergy down tracking lower oil pricesUK Feb retail sales rise unexpectedlyFTSE 100 down 1.4%, FTSE 250 off 1.0%March 24 (Reuters) - London stocks fell on Friday, dragged by energy shares that tracked oil prices lower, while banks extended declines at the end of a turbulent week as fears of a global banking crisis lingered. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 1.4%, extending losses after a near 1% drop on Thursday. British banks (.FTNMX301010) lost 2.7%, falling for a third straight session, joining their European peers in Friday's slide. Energy majors Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) fell 2.5% and 2.5%, respectively, dragging the broader energy sector (.FTNMX601010) down 2.5%, as oil prices extended losses on worries about a potential oversupply. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Miramax launched a film development team to resurrect its blockbuster-rich heyday. But a string of key departures has hobbled the vision and frustrated some Hollywood creatives.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Miramax built out a film development team early in the pandemic to bring in new projects and filmmakers. "He's the perfect leader to take the Miramax film team into this next chapter." Hammer's credits as a production executive include "Last Vegas" and "Inside Llewyn Davis." The first source said the film development team had worked to turn the company's reputation around by emphasizing relationships with respected filmmakers. But this person and an independent producer familiar with the Hollywood landscape, agreed that Miramax is no longer a top player in film development.

☆ China travel rebound bets turn toward airports, away from airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We are optimistic on a rebound in regional and international travel and continue to get exposure through airports and airplane leasing." Shares of Air China, China Eastern and China Southern have gained between 7% to 17% in the past four months, with Air China and China Southern trading above their 5-year average forward earnings, according to Refinitiv data. Airports under perform AirlinesIn the battle for Chinese travelers, local airlines are expected to fare better than regional airlines such as Qantas (QAN.AX), Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) and Cathay Pacific (0293.HK), mainly because Chinese airlines kept more widebody planes and staff ready. All three Chinese airlines are expected to swing to profit in 2023 after reporting big losses last year, according to Refinitiv data. Analysts expect Chinese airlines will see profits peak next year as international traffic makes a fuller rebound.

☆ Crypto is banned in China, but Binance employees and support volunteers tell people how to bypass the ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

The messages CNBC reviewed come from accounts identified as Binance employees or Binance-trained volunteers known as "Angels." Whatever the method, Binance's Chinese users take on a significant risk: In China, crypto exchanges have been outlawed since 2017, while crypto itself was outlawed in 2021. But Chinese customers have continued to seek ways to trade on Binance, which include using instructions provided by employees and volunteers. "'Binance does not offer a 'Binance Chinese Android app," a spokesperson said. In addition, hours after Binance responded to CNBC, messages apeared on Twitter suggesting that some customers' Binance debit cards had been frozen.

☆ China approves its first mRNA Covid-19 vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has approved its first Covid-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology, months after the country lifted strict pandemic measures. The vaccine targets the Omicron variant and was tested in China with over 5,500 people, it added. “This is a positive step because there is strong scientific evidence that mRNA vaccines do much better than non-MRA vaccines,” Jin Dong-yan, a professor in molecular virology at the University of Hong Kong, told CNN. Until now, China has approved only inactivated vaccines made by Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm Group, two Beijing-based drugmakers. The inactivated vaccines have been found to elicit lower levels of antibody response compared to ones using the newer messenger RNA technology.

☆ Fitness chains add financial muscle as more Americans hit the gym
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Some of the major players in the fitness sector have pushed the envelope on membership rates after the pandemic scare, helping them beef up earnings, when most other industries are under stress from the impact of a cautious consumer. Larger rival Planet Fitness Inc (PLNT.N) added 400,000 members in the fourth quarter, taking the total to about 17 million in 2022. "People that are working out, are working out slightly more than they did in the past ... So even with the recessionary talks and layoffs you see, cancellations are just slightly better," Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau said at a JPMorgan conference last week. A Planet Fitness executive said Gen Z represented 25% of the company's total membership.

☆ Fox News is unlikely to face pushback from professional journalism groups after court documents revealed it lied to viewers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The White House Correspondents' Association doesn't police member conduct, a former board member said. A number of professional organizations told Insider that Fox News fell well short of the standards expected in the profession. "Journalism receives significant protections from the First Amendment and with those protections come profound responsibilities," McCarran told Insider. Evidence made public in Dominion's lawsuit shows how Fox employees — beyond just hosts of opinion shows — had priorities other than telling their viewers the truth. "There are left-wing publications, right-wing publications, there are government-owned publications — there's Voice of America, foreign news organizations," the former board member said. "

Investors have purchased the debt of Silicon Valley Bank’s parent at distressed levels in hopes of profiting in a possible sale of assets. Creditors of Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company have formed a group in anticipation of a potential bankruptcy filing, through which they hope to profit from a sale of the collapsed firm’s private-wealth and other units, according to people familiar with the matter. The investor group, which is being advised by PJT Partners Inc., includes Centerbridge Partners LP, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP and Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco, the people said. Most members bought parent SVB Financial Group ’s bonds coming into the weekend as they traded down to around 30 cents on the dollar, the people said. The group now holds a sizable chunk of SVB Financial’s $3.4 billion face value of bonds.

☆ These stocks benefit the most when short-term rates slide, according to Jefferies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As short-term rates slide on the back of the banking crisis, a handful of stocks — including chip names —will emerge winners, according to Jefferies. The strategist noted the steep drop in the 2-year yield is pointing to worsening economic conditions. Indeed, the names Jefferies highlighted are largely tech and growth stocks – that is, companies that suffered the most when interest rates rose and slashed their valuations. Semiconductor stocks Lam Research and Advanced Micro Devices were also included in the list. Paycom Software and aerospace name TransDigm Group were also highlighted in Jefferies' report as beneficiaries of a falling 2-year Treasury yield.

☆ SVB creditors form group ahead of possible bankruptcy - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Creditors of Silicon Valley Bank's (SIVB.O) parent company have formed a group in anticipation of a potential bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Embattled lender SVB, which was shut down last week, on Monday said it was exploring strategic alternatives and had hired a restructuring veteran, but has not said it was planning to file for bankruptcy. The creditor group includes Centerbridge Partners, Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Pacific Investment Management Co, the report said, adding that they were being advised by PJT Partners Inc. The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FIFA says 2026 World Cup will have record 104 matches
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format" FIFA said. The 32-team World Cup in Qatar last year had a total of 64 matches completed in 29 days. Confederation champions from 2021-2024 will be eligible to play in the Club World Cup, which means Chelsea and Real Madrid have already qualified. The current version of the FIFA Club World Cup -- an annual competition with seven teams -- will be discontinued after 2023, with a new yearly club competition approved from 2024. "With 56 days, the total combined number of rest, release and tournament days remain identical to the 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup editions," FIFA added.

☆ Dutch farmers, climate activists get ready for pre-election protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Farmer say the government plans to limit nitrogen pollution would lead to the closure of many livestock farms and reduced fertilizer use. Similar protests were held by farmers in Belgium this month against a regional government plan to limit nitrogen emissions. Police said in a statement they had begun intercepting farmers attempting to enter the city on tractors and turning them away. The Farmers Defence Force group leading the farmers' demonstration, which has city approval, has encouraged people to arrive by bus. Environmentalists led by the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion say they plan to block traffic on a thoroughfare near parliament in an unauthorised demonstration likely to lead to arrests.

☆ Hundreds of cars confiscated from drunk drivers to be supplied to Ukraine's military and hospitals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Latvia is sending cars that have been confiscated from drunk drivers to Ukraine. Latvia said it would provide two dozen seized vehicles to Ukraine each week. The government tasked the transport of the seized cars to the Agendum group — a Latvian NGO that delivers vehicles to Ukraine — who will donate them to the Ukrainian military and hospitals. "It's actually very scary when you realize how many cars are driving around with drunk drivers," Reinis Poznaks, founder of the NGO Twitter Convoy in association with Agendum, told Reuters in an interview. Last month, the Latvian parliament passed a law allowing the transfer of state-owned vehicles — usually sold or recycled — to Ukraine, according to Euronews.

Google , Netflix , Meta , Apple , Amazon and Microsoft generate nearly half of all internet traffic today. Big Tech firms say this would amount to an "internet tax" that could undermine net neutrality. They bemoaned spending billions on laying cables and installing antennas to cope with rising internet demand without corresponding investments from Big Tech. One suggestion is to require individual bargaining deals with the Big Tech firms, similar to Australian licensing models between news publishers and internet platforms. "The imbalance is not down to Big Tech, it's not down to streamers, and it's not down to telcos.

☆ Bolloré Jr. readies Vivendi for asset purge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But the markdown gives Yannick more latitude to end his father’s ill-fated Italian foray while continuing to play hardball to raise the price tag. Here again, the move will give Bolloré junior more freedom to consider offers from potential buyers, which the European Commission will have to approve. At 70, the elder Bolloré, who remains in charge of the family holding that owns a 30% stake in Vivendi, is gradually implementing his succession plan. At 9.8 euros, Vivendi’s stock fails to capture the value of its various investments and trades below an analysts’ target of between 12 to 15 euros. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Is the U.S. falling behind China in Africa’s lithium industry?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sydney Boyo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The demand for lithium is rising as it has become a critical component needed in electric vehicle batteries. Zimbabwe has been mining lithium for 60 years and the government estimates that its Chinese-owned Bikita Minerals Mine, which is located 300 kilometers south of the capital Harare, has about 11 million metric tons of lithium resources. In December 2022, Zimbabwe passed the Base Mineral Export Control Act that banned the export of raw lithium. That includes Chinese firms Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt , Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group which have invested $678 million into lithium projects in Zimbabwe. Both the Bikita mine, which is the largest lithium mine in the country, and the Arcadia Lithium mine are Chinese owned.

Zimbabwe has been mining lithium for 60 years and the government estimates that its Chinese-owned Bikita mine, which is located 300 km south of the capital Harare, has about 11 million metric tons of lithium resources. In December, the country passed the Base Mineral Export Control Act, which banned the export of raw lithium. However, companies that are already developing mines or processing plants in Zimbabwe are exempt from this ban. This includes Chinese firms Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt , Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group , which have invested $678 million into lithium projects in Zimbabwe. CNBC explores Zimbabwe's mining sector to find out why China has a stronghold on the country and why it matters to the U.S.

"But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals. GERMANY LAGGINGWhile several countries across Europe are still formulating telecom policies, only Britain and Sweden have so far banned Huawei and ZTE from supplying critical 5G network equipment. The German government was last month unable to answer a parliamentary request about how many Huawei components operators were using in their 5G networks, filed in part in response to the report. The deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain's 5G networks by the end of 2027 remains unchanged.

[1/5] Grain farmer Oleksandr Klepach points at trenches in his field, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Snihurivka, southeast Ukraine, February 20, 2023. Agricultural companies, which plant most of Ukraine's fields, are short 40 billion hryvnia ($1.08 billion) to carry out spring work, the Agrarian Council said. Grains have traditionally dominated Ukraine's fields, but lower-cost and higher-priced oilseeds are gaining popularity during war. Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest corn exporter before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and the biggest sunflower oil exporter. Companies lacking demining certification are charging farmers up to $3,000 per hectare to clear fields, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday.

"But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals. The government would ban operators from using certain controlling elements from Huawei and ZTE in 5G networks. The German government was last month unable to answer a recent parliamentary request about how many Huawei components operators were using in their 5G networks. The deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain's 5G networks by the end of 2027 remains unchanged.

☆ These 3 stocks have gained every year for a decade — and are expected to keep rising
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Only three stocks are in the green this year and have had positive returns every year for the past decade, data shows. Insurance company Progressive Corp and aerospace manufacturing company TransDigm Group — both U.S. listed — along with Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard are the only three stocks in the MSCI World Index to achieve this feat. The Canadian stock is also the largest holding in the only ETF that's posted gains yearly for the past decade . ATD has posted 725% in total returns and 23% CAGR over the past decade. TDG shares have risen by nearly 900% over the past decade in addition to this year, representing 25.4% in total CAGR.

☆ Trip.com Group's CEO discusses what the company is doing to support women
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTrip.com Group's CEO discusses what the company is doing to support womenJane Sun of the online travel firm outlines its policies with that aim, such as paying for egg freezing.

☆ E-commerce entrepreneurs who are earning money selling socks and wallets on Amazon share their top strategies, including how to find a product to sell and how to get ranked higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Anyone can set up a seller profile on Amazon and start listing products to make some extra cash. One, you need to find a good product to sell, they said. Insider has spoken to successful Amazon sellers who took very different approaches to building and scaling their companies. To find them, she uses an analytics platform for Amazon sellers called Helium 10. Improve your Amazon ranking with a good listing, strong reviews, and smart advertisingRanking high on Amazon requires a couple of things.

☆ KLM, airline industry to fight Schiphol Airport flight cap in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Tosterling Charlotte Campenhout | Charlotte Campenhout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMSTERDAM, March 3 (Reuters) - KLM and other airlines on Friday said they are suing the Dutch government over plans to cap the number of annual flights allowed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, saying it would hurt them, the Dutch economy and travellers. Others joining the KLM suit include Delta Airlines, easyJet, TUI and Turkey's Corendon Airlines. But the decision to cap the flights cited noise and air pollution concerns, not traveller's' distress. Schiphol Airport Group, which was also issued a summons in the KLM-led case, said it "regretted" the suit. Last month the airport said it would impose a 66,000 passenger per day cap for the 2023 May vacation period due to still-unresolved labour shortages.

☆ There’s hope beyond moaning for European telcos
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Pierre Briancon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The annual Barcelona tech fest this week was in line with tradition, but a different mood music could also be heard beyond the bleatings of European telco executives. The good news for them is that European competition authorities seem to have been mollified by the constant pleading, and could take a softer approach to consolidation in the industry. Höttges compared the 55 billion euros invested by European telcos on infrastructure last year to the 1 billion euros invested in connectivity by those he calls the “hyperscalers”. The hope is now that, considering the European telcos’ low return on investment, European competition authorities will review their strict stance on consolidation in the sector. But European telcos also have means to address some of the problems they are facing without giving the impression that everything depends on forces beyond their control.

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