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☆ Wall St Week Ahead Stock investors see green light in falling Treasury yields
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The relationship between stocks and bonds has been a tight one in recent months, with equities falling as Treasury yields climbed to 16-year highs. Higher yields offer investment competition to stocks while also raising the cost of capital for companies and households. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has surged nearly 6% from its October lows. Draho expects the S&P 500 to trade between 4,200 and 4,600 until investors determine whether the economy will be able to avoid a recession. The S&P 500 was recently up more than 1% on the day.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Jason Draho, Draho, Ryan Detrick, Greg Wilensky, Janus Henderson, David Randall, Ira Iosebashvili, Louise Heavens Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Treasury, UBS Global Wealth Management, National Association of Active Investment, CFRA Research, Carson Investment Research, Fed, Apple Inc, Janus, Janus Henderson Investors, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Treasuries

The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) logo is seen outside of a branch in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie Acquire Licensing RightsTORONTO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The chief operating officer of Bank of Nova Scotia's (BNS.TO) Canadian banking unit, Kevin Teslyk, has left the company, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters, the latest in a series of management changes under CEO Scott Thomson. James Neate, president of corporate and investment banking and Shawn Rose, chief technology officer have also left Scotiabank, the memo said. Canadian banks, including Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), have announced job cuts due to higher costs forcing. Neate, who has held senior executive roles in retail banking, commercial banking and wealth management, among others, will leave the bank at the end of December, according to the memo.

Persons: Chris Wattie, Kevin Teslyk, Scott Thomson, James Neate, Shawn Rose, Aris Bogdaneris, Dan Rees, Thomson, Mike Rizvanovic, Rose, Nivedita Balu, Kirsten Donovan, Louise Heavens Organizations: of Nova, REUTERS, Rights TORONTO, Bank of Nova, Reuters, Scotiabank, ING Group, Aris, Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Thomson Locations: of Nova Scotia, Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, California, Toronto

A help wanted sign hangs in a bar window along Queen Street West in Toronto Ontario, Canada June 10, 2022. Canada added a net 17,500 jobs in October, Statistics Canada data showed. The softer-than-anticipated jobs report follows data out earlier this week indicating that the economy likely slipped into a shallow recession in the third quarter. "This will keep the Bank of Canada pinned more fully to the sidelines, although we still believe that rate relief remains a distant prospect." The services sector gained 10,000 jobs, led by information, culture and recreation as well as healthcare and social assistance.

Persons: Carlos Osorio, Royce Mendes, that's, Paul Smith, Doug Porter, Ismail Shakil, Steve Scherer, Fergal Smith, Nivedita Balu, Dale Smith, Louise Heavens, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Queen, West, REUTERS, Statistics, Reuters, Desjardins, Bank of Canada’s, The Bank of Canada, BoC, P, P Global Market Intelligence, CENTRAL BANK, Canadian, BMO Capital Markets, Bank of Canada, Thomson Locations: Toronto Ontario, Canada, OTTAWA, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Toronto

☆ Hedge fund JAT calls on Overstock.com to replace CEO - filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Hedge fund JAT Capital urged the board of internet retailer Overstock.com (OSTK.O) to replace the company's chief executive officer, arguing that Jonathan E. Johnson III is to blame for poor financial performance. JAT, run by John Thaler, owns a 9.6% stake in Overstock.com, and is stepping up pressure, having called on the company in October to consider selling certain assets and to overhaul management compensation. "The current CEO needs to be removed immediately," JAT wrote to the board in a letter dated Nov. 2 and made public in a regulatory filing on Friday. Thaler, who wrote the letter just days before Overstock.com's analyst day on Monday, proposed that businessman and television personality Marcus Lemonis, who joined the Overstock.com board last month, should become CEO. Overstock's stock price climbed nearly 3% on Friday but has lost 23% in the last 52 weeks.

Persons: Jonathan E, Johnson, John Thaler, JAT, Thaler, Marcus Lemonis, Lemonis, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Louise Heavens Organizations: Capital, Bed, Svea, Thomson Locations: Overstock.com

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends an in-conversation event with Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Risks around rapidly-developing AI have been an increasingly high priority for policymakers since Microsoft-backed Open AI (MSFT.O) released ChatGPT to the public last year. "It was fascinating that just as we announced our AI safety institute, the Americans announced theirs," said attendee Nigel Toon, CEO of British AI firm Graphcore. China’s vice minister of science and technology said the country was willing to work with all sides on AI governance. Yoshua Bengio, an AI pioneer appointed to lead a "state of the science" report commissioned as part of the Bletchley Declaration, told Reuters the risks of open-source AI were a high priority.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Tesla, Elon Musk, Kirsty Wigglesworth, Sam Altman, Kamala Harris, Ursula von der Leyen, China –, Sunak, Finance Bruno Le Maire, Vera Jourova, Jourova, Harris, Nigel Toon, Wu Zhaohui, Musk, you’ve, Martin Coulter, Paul Sandle, Matt Scuffham, Louise Heavens Organizations: British, Elon, U.S, European Commission, Microsoft, of, Finance, EU, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, China, Bletchley, U.S, South Korea, France, United States

Strikes at car and truck plants are likely to have a widespread impact on manufacturing activity given their large supply chains. Energy consumption by industrial users steadied over the third quarter, which was consistent with the worst of the manufacturing downturn being over. The stabilisation of both diesel and industrial electricity sales in the summer was consistent with manufacturing activity steadying ahead of a renewed expansion. Because the industrial downturn has been long but shallow, distillate inventories remain well below the long-term seasonal average. Return to expansion would likely cause diesel stocks to deplete rapidly and put upward pressure on industrial prices quickly.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, John Kemp, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Institute, Supply, Federal Reserve, Global, U.S, Thomson, Reuters Locations: IceStone, New York City , New York, U.S, Chartbook

☆ Volkswagen puts off east European gigafactory amid sluggish EV demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Volkswagen logo is seen during the New York International Auto Show, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 5, 2023. It said earlier this year it was in no rush to make a decision. Czech officials said on Wednesday they would start offering their proposed site for Volkswagen's battery plant to other investors, saying they could not afford to wait any longer for a decision. "We cannot continue to hold the land for this project," Fiala told a news conference. Industry minister Jozef Sikela said talks were happening with five investors, with two of those projects on a similar scale to Volkswagen's plans.

Persons: David, Dee, Delgado, Oliver Blume, BEV, Blume, Petr Fiala, Fiala, Jozef Sikela, Jason Hovet, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter Organizations: New York, REUTERS, Rights, Volkswagen, Volkswagen's, Skoda Auto, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Europe, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Salzgitter, Germany, Valencia, Spain, St, Thomas, Canada, Volkswagen's Czech, Czech

REUTERS/Nick Oxford Acquire Licensing RightsNov 1 (Reuters) - Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N) on Wednesday projected higher-than-expected cash burn for 2023 as it slashed anticipated deliveries of 737 fuselages, but its new CEO said returning the embattled aerospace supplier to positive cash flow will be his "principle goal." "However, we have other cash levers to pull," including organizational inefficiencies and more closely enforcing contracts with its own supply chain, he said. LOWERED 737 DELIVERY EXPECTATIONSOn Wednesday, Spirit increased its anticipated free cash burn to between $275 and $325 million for 2023, compared with the $200 million to $250 million range. Executives said they anticipate positive margins on the 787 program by the first half of 2025 as a result of the agreement with Boeing. Third-quarter cash burn was $136 million, compared with a cash burn of $73 million a year ago.

Persons: Nick Oxford, Patrick Shanahan, Robert Stallard, Shanahan, Abhijith, Maju Samuel, Louise Heavens, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, REUTERS, Boeing, Vertical Research Partners, Airbus, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Wichita , Kansas, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Renault had 'friendly' discussions with Chinese investment bank - spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Renault is seen at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) had "friendly" discussions with Chinese investment bank CICC about potential cooperation, but nothing has been signed or decided so far, a company spokesperson said, confirming media reports. "A meeting took place between CICC and Renault Group for friendly discussions about China's market," a spokeswoman told Reuters. Chinese media outlet Cailianshe reported on Friday that Renault and CICC had reached a preliminary intention agreement to jointly invest to establish an investment fund to focus on the NEV industry chain, citing people familiar with the matter. Cailianshe added that Renault CEO Luca de Meo was in China for a week long visit.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, carmaker, CICC, Luca de Meo, Gilles Guillaume, Brenda Goh, Roxanne Liu, Tassilo Hummel, Marine Strauss, Louise Heavens Organizations: Renault, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Rights, carmaker Renault, Renault Group, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, CICC, China, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ Spain's state fund considers taking Telefonica stake after STC move
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Spanish Telecom company is displayed atop the company's building in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2023. Acting Economy Minister Nadia Calvino has said Madrid will carry out a thorough evaluation before approving STC's stake, while acting labour minister Yolanda Diaz has called for the transaction to be blocked. Spain's SEPI said in a stock market filing on Tuesday that it was carrying out an "exploratory internal analysis over a potential acquisition" of a stake in Telefonica. STC declined to comment on any potential plans by SEPI. Caixabank, which owns 3.5% stake of Telefonica, said last week it would not raise its stake in response to STC's move, and would analyse with Telefonica any potential cooperation with the Saudi Arabian telecoms company.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Spanish telco Caixabank, SEPI, Nadia Calvino, Yolanda Diaz, Spain's SEPI, Belen Gualda Gonzalez, Onur Genc, It's, Genc, Inti Landauro, Pietro Lombardi, Louise Heavens, Alexander Smith Organizations: Spanish Telecom, REUTERS, BBVA, Telefonica Bank, Telefonica MADRID, Telefonica, Saudi, STC, Saudi Arabia's, SEPI, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Spanish, Saudi Arabian

☆ Hong Kong Finance Chief to Attend APEC Meet, Side-Stepping Dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's financial secretary Paul Chan will attend an APEC meeting on Nov. 15-17 in San Francisco, it said on Tuesday, standing in for Chief Executive John Lee and smoothing over a diplomatically sensitive issue for both Beijing and Washington. Beijing had previously said Lee, who is subject to U.S. sanctions, should attend. The United States imposed sanctions on Lee in 2020 over his role in the crackdown of pro-democracy demonstrations. Earlier this year, a State Department spokesperson said Washington would work with Hong Kong to ensure "appropriate" participation in the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting. Hong Kong's statement said Lee was unable to attend due to "scheduling issues" and made no mention of the U.S. sanctions.

Persons: Paul Chan, John Lee, Lee, Wang Yi, Washington, Hong, Chan, Twinnie Siu, Farah Master, Ryan Woo, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Chief, Beijing, Foreign, APEC, State Department, Economic Cooperation Locations: HONG KONG, San Francisco, Beijing, Washington, United States, Hong Kong, Asia, U.S

☆ Berkshire Hathaway sells $25.8 mln worth of shares in China's BYD
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Scott Morgan/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company owned by Warren Buffett, has sold 820,500 Hong Kong-listed shares of electric vehicle maker BYD Co (002594.SZ) for HK$201.73 million ($25.78 million), a stock exchange filing showed. The sale on Oct. 25 lowered Berkshire's holdings in BYD's issued H-shares to 7.98% from 8.05%, the filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday showed. ($1 = 7.8238 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Twinnie Siu; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Warren Buffett, Scott Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway, Twinnie Siu, Louise Heavens Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway, REUTERS, HK, Thomson Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, U.S, HONG KONG, Berkshire, Hong Kong, BYD's

"BP reported weak numbers this morning...However, notably, BP has reported exceptional gas trading results on several occasions in the last couple of years, including last quarter," said RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria. In the downstream, customers & products reported $2.1 bln vs consensus $2.4 bln, despite being supported by very strong oil trading results, suggesting weaker refining margin capture in the third quarter." That was up from the $2.6 billion profit the company reported in the prior three months due to higher oil and gas production, strong refining margins, lower refinery maintenance and "a very strong oil trading result", but natural gas marketing and trading were weak. BP expects capital expenditure of $16 billion this year, the lower end of its indicated range of $16-$18 billion. Rivals Chevron (CVX.N) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) last week posted sharp year-on-year drops in third quarter profit as energy prices cooled.

Persons: Norway's, Biraj Borkhataria, Murray Auchincloss, Bernard Looney, Ron Bousso, Louise Heavens, Jason Neely Organizations: windfarm, BP, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Rivals Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Thomson, & $ Locations: U.S, British, New York

REUTERS/Steve Marcus/ File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 31 (Reuters) - Caterpillar (CAT.N) reported a double-digit rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, beating Wall Street estimates as strong infrastructure investments across key markets boosted demand for its high-end construction equipment in North America. The world's largest construction equipment maker's order backlog fell $2.6 billion quarter over quarter. Construction equipment demand had been resilient as the United States upgrades its roads, railways and other transportation infrastructure under a $1 trillion package approved by Congress in 2021 under the Biden administration. Machinery, Energy and Transportation equipment profit rose 48% from the year prior. Its profit rose to $2.79 billion, or $5.45 per share, outpacing an analysts' forecast of $4.79.

Persons: Steve Marcus, Kristen Owen, Matt Britzman, Hargreaves Lansdown, Biden, outpacing, Bianca Flowers, Devika Syamnath, Louise Heavens, Mark Porter Organizations: Caterpillar, REUTERS, Wall, Oppenheimer, Co Inc, Congress, Machinery, Energy, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, North America, Texas, United States, Chicago, Bengaluru

☆ China's cyberspace regulator summons Alibaba's Quark, Netease CC over vulgar content
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Alibaba Group is lit up at its office building in Beijing, China August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 30 (Reuters) - China's cyberspace regulator on Monday fined the Alibaba-owned (9988.HK) Quark platform 500,000 yuan ($68,342.42) for hosting and promoting vulgar content. The regulator also ordered Netease's (9999.HK) livestream platform Netease CC to suspend the broadcast of some types of dance content for seven days due to vulgar content, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement. Quark said it attaches great important to the matter and relevant illegal content has been banned on the platform, China's state-backed Securities Times reported. ($1 = 7.3161 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Beijing Newsroom, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Netease's, Quark, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, HK, Quark, Cyberspace Administration, Securities Times, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING

☆ China EV maker BYD reports record quarterly profit of $1.42 bln in Q3
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BYD electric vehicles are seen at a BYD dealership in Brasilia, Brazil October 24, 2023. Net profit for the third quarter reached 10.41 billion yuan ($1.42 billion), a 82.2% increase from a year earlier, on a 38.5% rise in revenue to 162.2 billion yuan, BYD said in a market filing. It flagged earlier this month that third-quarter net profit could as much as double. That was a smaller increase than the second quarter when profit was up 145%. The third-quarter earnings was within its forecast range of between 9.55 billion yuan and 11.55 billion yuan.

Persons: Adriano Machado, BYD, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Jamie Freed, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Brasilia, Brazil, Rights BEIJING, SHANGHAI

☆ Israeli cyber security company Check Point's Q3 profit tops estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Gil Shwed, Founder and CEO, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd, speaks at a Cyber security conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 31, 2017. The Israeli-based company said it earned $2.07 per diluted share excluding one-off items in the July-September quarter, up 17% from $1.77 a year earlier. It was forecast to earn $2.02 a share on revenue of $591.5 million, according to I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv. Check Point said it bought back 2.48 million shares in the quarter, worth $325 million, as part of its ongoing $2 billion share buyback programme. CEO Gil Shwed said that despite the "tragic events in Israel over the past three weeks our global business has continued to operate as planned", introducing new products and completing acquisitions.

Persons: Gil Shwed, Baz Ratner, Steven Scheer, Louise Heavens Organizations: Software Technologies, REUTERS, Rights, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel

☆ Web Summit appoints new CEO after predecessor quit over Israel-Hamas comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Web Summit has appointed former Wikimedia Foundation CEO Katherine Maher as chief executive following the resignation of Paddy Cosgrave, whose comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict prompted some companies to withdraw from an upcoming conference. Cosgrave, who founded Web Summit, resigned as CEO earlier this month, saying his personal comments on the conflict had become a distraction from Web Summit 2023 in Lisbon, one of the world's largest tech conferences, which is due to start on Nov. 13. "In recent weeks Web Summit has been at the centre of the conversation, rather than the host. "Today Web Summit is entering its next phase." Maher led Wikimedia Foundation, the global nonprofit behind Wikipedia, for five years and is chair of messaging platform Signal Messenger, a Web Summit statement said.

Persons: Katherine Maher, Paddy Cosgrave, Cosgrave, Maher, Cosgrove, Conor Humphries, Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: DUBLIN, Summit, Wikimedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Palestinian, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Israel, Lisbon, Gaza

☆ Amplifon lowers profit forecast on weak demand, global uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Amplifon logo and stock graph are seen in this illustration taken, May 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Amplifon SpA FollowOct 30 (Reuters) - Italian hearing aid maker Amplifon (AMPF.MI) lowered its full year guidance for recurring core profit on Monday, citing weaker than expected demand in Europe and global economic and political uncertainty. It now sees its recurring earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at about 550 million euros ($582.34 million) for 2023, down from a previous forecast of between 570-585 million euros. Amplifon's recurring EBITDA stood at 109.8 million euros in the third quarter, marginally up from 109.4 million euros a year ago. ($1 = 0.9445 euros)Reporting by Alessandro Parodi, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, EBITDA, Alessandro Parodi, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Europe, Israel

☆ Oil spikes as Middle East strife heightens supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Natalie Grover | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, appearing to run out of space to contain a historic supply glut that has hammered prices, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. Brent crude futures were up $1.33, or about 1.5%, to $91.23 a barrel at 1231 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures were up $1.28, or roughly 1.5%, at $87.94 a barrel. "This turn of diplomatic fortunes again garners fear of conflict spread and therefore the leap in oil," said John Evans of oil broker PVM. Elsewhere in the Saudi city of Jeddah, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian urged members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to impose an oil embargo on Israel.

Persons: Nick Oxford, Brent, Jordan, Biden, Joe Biden, John Evans, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Vivek Dhar, Harry Murphy Cruise, Natalie Grover, Arathy, Muyu Xu, Lincoln, Jason Neely, Elaine Hardcastle, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Brent, West Texas, U.S, Hamas, Iranian, of Islamic Cooperation, Reuters, Israel Hamas, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, American Petroleum Institute, Golden, Thomson Locations: Cushing , Oklahoma, Iran, Israel, OPEC, U.S, Gaza, Gaza City, Saudi, Jeddah

☆ Adidas shares jump after 2023 guidance raise
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A person looks at clothes in the Adidas store at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York, U.S., February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Shares in Adidas (ADSGn.DE) gained 4% at the open on Wednesday after the sportswear company raised its guidance for the year in a surprise third-quarter results pre-release. Adidas said it now expects a loss of 100 million euros ($106 million) this year versus a previously expected loss of 450 million and a loss of 700 million euros it warned of in February. It is the second time this year Adidas has raised forecasts ahead of results - expected on Nov. 8 - as sales of its remaining stock of Yeezy shoes helped boost revenue. Reporting by Helen Reid; editing by Jason Neely and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Bjorn Gulden's, Ye, Bjorn Gulden, Graham Renwick, Helen Reid, Jason Neely, Louise Heavens Organizations: Adidas, Woodbury, REUTERS, Berenberg, Thomson Locations: Central Valley , New York, U.S, Europe, China

☆ SK Hynix denies report about approaching SoftBank on Kioxia merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Memory chips by South Korean semiconductor supplier SK Hynix are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Oct 18 (Reuters) - South Korea's SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS), the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said on Wednesday it has not approached Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T) to partner up in a possible deal with memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp.A Nikkei report earlier on Wednesday said SK Hynix is reluctant to back a merger between U.S. rival Western Digital's memory chip operations and Kioxia, in which SK Hynix holds a stake. The report went on to say that SK Hynix had sounded out SoftBank for a partnership in case the merger falls through. "SK Hynix denies Nikkei's report that the company approached SoftBank for collaboration with regard to the Kioxia-Western Digital deal," the company said in a statement, without commenting on its stance on the merger. Kioxia and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) are pursuing a merger as a global chip glut and weak demand for flash memory chips strengthens pressure for chipmakers to consolidate.

Persons: Florence Lo, Japan's, SoftBank, Kioxia, Joyce Lee, Anton, Simon Cameron, Moore, Louise Heavens Organizations: SK Hynix, REUTERS, Rights, Korea's SK Hynix Inc, Japan's SoftBank, Kioxia Holdings Corp, Nikkei, Wednesday, U.S, Western, SoftBank Group, Western Digital Corp, Thomson Locations: Rights SEOUL

☆ Infineon signs semiconductor supply deal with automakers Hyundai, Kia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Infineon Technologies AG logo is seen during German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's visit, in Dresden, Germany July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - German chip manufacturer Infineon (IFXGn.DE) said on Wednesday it has signed a multi-year agreement with Hyundai and Kia to supply power semiconductors for the production of electric cars. Infineon will build and reserve manufacturing capacity to supply silicon carbide and silicon power modules and chips to Hyundai and Kia until 2030, with the two carmakers to support the project with financial contributions, Infineon said in a statement. "This partnership not only empowers Hyundai Motor and Kia to stabilise its semiconductor supply but also positions us to solidify our leadership in the global EV (electric vehicle) market," Heung Soo Kim, Hyundai's Executive Vice President, said in a statement. Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Robert Habeck, Annalena Baerbock's, Annegret, Heung Soo Kim, Rachel More, Louise Heavens Organizations: Infineon, REUTERS, Rights, Hyundai, Kia, Hyundai Motor, Thomson Locations: Dresden, Germany

☆ Umicore cuts investment target after expanding EV battery materials production
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Umicore SA FollowVolkswagen AG FollowOct 17 (Reuters) - Belgium's Umicore (UMI.BR) said on Tuesday it had lowered its net capital expenditure target for 2026 after expanding its battery materials production facilities to North America, with plans to build a new plant in Canada. Umicore expects total net capital expenditure between 2022 and 2026 to reach 3.8 billion euros ($4.01 billion). The group had previously said it planned to carry out phased investments of around 5 billion euros between 2022-2026. Analysts at brokerage Jefferies said that the difference between both figures does not necessarily mean a drop in overall gross capex spending. Umicore also announced a new target for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins, which they expect to be above 25% from 2026.

Persons: Umicore, Jefferies, Victor Goury, Louise Heavens Organizations: Volkswagen, Thomson Locations: North America, Canada

☆ Electric truck maker Volta Trucks files for bankruptcy in Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A Volta Zero electric truck is seen during the 2023 Munich Auto Show IAA Mobility, in Munich, Germany, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Electric truck maker Volta Trucks said on Tuesday it has decided to file for bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden, after difficulties at suppliers made it hard for the startup to raise funds. Volta said it will also shortly file for bankruptcy in Britain. The electric truck maker had raised around 300 million euros ($316 million) from investors and said it had an order book of more than 5,000 vehicles. Volta Trucks had picked a factory in Austria to make its trucks and had been working toward mass production.

Persons: Angelika Warmuth, Nick Carey, Louise Heavens, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Volta, Volta Trucks, Thomson Locations: Munich, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, Britain, Austria

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