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☆ Morning Bid: Amazon cools, Intel warms, Japan hesitates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A smartphone with a displayed Intel logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. But the dramatic re-acceleration of Big Tech stocks this week - where the NYFANG+TM (.NYFANG) index of the top 10 Big Tech stocks is now up 37% so far this year - is competing with multiple macro narratives that are increasingly hard to read. With the Fed meeting in view, the release of March PCE price inflation data later on Friday tops the diary. Wall St stock futures fell back 0.4% after a wild ride in Amazon.com shares overnight. With much of Europe and Asia closed on Monday for the May Day bank holiday, Asia bourses advanced in Wall St's slipstream but Europe retreated sharply on some jarring corporate updates.

Fabrizio Campelli, who oversees Deutsche's investment bank, said it had been looking to grow its business in Britain. Deutsche Bank shares rose as much as 2.5% in early trade before erasing gains. MOVING INAs part of the deal, 35 Deutsche Bank corporate finance employees will move in with more than 300 London-based Numis staff. As part of its strategy, Deutsche Bank - a leading bank in Germany with strong European roots - said earlier this week that it aims to accelerate "growth initiatives" including potential acquisition of portfolios and assets. Britain is the largest investment banking market in Europe and Numis is a diversified investment bank with a UK franchise.

☆ Baseball’s ‘Peculiar’ Pull Draws in a Former Star
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Noah Gittell | Hiroko Masuike | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Daniel Murphy looked out over the grass at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, where the Long Island Ducks were practicing under cloudy skies. “Baseball is a beautiful game,” he said, “and it makes people do peculiar things.”Murphy would know. A three-time All-Star who played his last Major League Baseball game in 2020, he is attempting a comeback with the Ducks, whose 126-game season began on Friday with a road game in North Carolina. Murphy, along with some other long shots, intends to grind it out in the Atlantic League despite being 38 and having earned nearly $80 million in a 12-season major league career. The Atlantic League, which has been active since 1998, is a place of optimism and experimentation.

SummarySummary Companies Britain's house prices show weak rise in AprilBunelm gains on Stifel upgradeMedica Group surges on buyout dealFTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.2%April 24 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Monday as energy stocks and base metal miners lost ground on weak demand outlook, while caution set in ahead of a busy week of earnings. Oil giants BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L) lost 0.9% and 1.2%, respectively, as crude prices fell more than 1% on concerns about rising interest rates, global economic slowdown and fuel demand outlook. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.2%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) was up 0.2%, as of 0821 GMT. Growth companies, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), are scheduled to report their earnings this week. The FTSE 100 logged its fifth consecutive weekly rise on Friday, marking its longest streak of weekly gains in more than a year, buoyed by commodity stocks, even as weak global economic growth outlook keeps investor sentiment subdued.

☆ Baseball Has Changed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

America’s oldest professional sport looks different this year. For the first time in M.L.B.’s 148-year history, clocks in stadiums now count down between every pitch, forcing pitchers and batters into action. The changes — including the pitch clock and others meant to increase action — have led to much faster games with more hits, more stolen bases and less down time. Whether the changes will increase interest in baseball is another question. Today’s newsletter will explore how different this new version of baseball really is, with some charts from my colleague Ashley Wu.

☆ Mets Ace Gets 10-Game Ban for Sticky Substance on Hand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Scott Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Another unwanted, extended rest is coming for Max Scherzer, the Mets’ ace right-hander: He has been suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball for violating prohibitions on foreign substances. Scherzer, who was ejected from the Mets’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in the fourth inning, also was fined an undisclosed amount. The punishment was announced early Thursday evening before the Mets opened their four-game weekend series in San Francisco against the Giants. Scherzer had planned to appeal the suspension, according to his agent, Scott Boras, but then he told reporters before Thursday’s game that he would instead accept the ban. According to a person familiar with the proceedings, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Scherzer filed the appeal but agreed to drop it once M.L.B.

FRANKFURT, April 5 (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) may pick June to list its hydrogen business Nucera, provided equity markets are robust, three people familiar with the matter said, in what could be a multi-billion euro initial public offering. Plans to list Nucera, a 66%-34% joint venture between Thyssenkrupp and Italy's De Nora (DNR.MI), were put on the backburner last year due to unfavourable market conditions following the war in Ukraine and subsequent energy crisis. Nucera makes the electrolysers that are needed to produce green hydrogen - a sector that is currently benefiting from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and European Union initiatives to support the green energy transition. Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Martina Merz, under pressure to deliver on her pledge to turn the sprawling conglomerate into a leaner and more focused holding, said last month that the group would make a new effort to list Nucera, without elaborating. When plans for a listing of the business were first communicated in 2021, analysts valued Nucera at between 3 billion and 6 billion euros.

☆ London's FTSE 100 up for fourth day, Petrofac leads smallcaps higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.5%, while the FTSE 250 (.FTMC) added 1.1% by 0841 GMT. With a day left for the end of the first quarter of the year, the FTSE 100 is on track for gains of 2%, while the mid-cap index is likely to have a muted end. Top performing sectors this quarter include the FTSE 350 aerospace and defence (.FTNMX502010), construction and materials (.FTNMX501010) and retailers (.FTNMX404010). The FTSE 350 Automobiles and Parts sector (.FTNMX401010) added 2.5% and is among top-performing sectors this quarter. Moonpig Group PLC (MOONM.L) added 17.9% after the online card retailer said it expects revenue to expand across 2024.

☆ Factbox: Global firms with exposure to collapsed SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O) became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis last week, sending shockwaves across global markets as billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors were left stranded. The collapse raised concerns that the end of decades-long era of cheap money would reveal cracks in the global financial system as climbing interest rates expose vulnerabilities in the economy. HSBC (HSBA.L) said on Monday it is acquiring the UK subsidiary of SVB for 1 pound, rescuing a key lender for technology start-ups in Britain. Below is a list of companies across the globe that have revealed their exposure to SVB:EUROPEAround 16 tech and life sciences companies in Europe have disclosed about $190 million in exposure to SVB in the UK and the United States. Moonpig adds that SVB UK is one of ten lenders that provide senior debt facilities to the group as part of a strong banking syndicateASIA-PACIFICNITRO SOFTWARE (NTO.AX)Australia's productivity software maker Nitro Software Ltd (NTO.AX) said it had about $12.18 million of its global cash reserves held on deposit at SVB.

"HSBC is Europe's largest bank, and SVB UK customers should feel reassured by the strength, safety and security that brings them," Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said. The Bank of England said it had organised the sale to underpin confidence in the financial system and minimise any fallout for British technology firms. "This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK," HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement. The Bank of England said SVB UK had a total balance sheet size of around 8.8 billion pounds. Other potential buyers for SVB UK had included Bank of London, which said on Sunday it had submitted a formal proposal.

☆ Factbox: Which companies are affected by SVB collapse?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

ROKU (ROKU.O)Streaming devices maker says it has about $487 million, or 26% of its cash and cash equivalents, held in deposits with SVB. CIRCLEUS cryptocurrency firm Circle says $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USD Coin reserves are at SVB. BLOCKFIBankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc has roughly $227 million in unprotected funds at SVB, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. VIR BIOTECHNOLOGY (VIR.O)Biotech firm says it maintains operating accounts at SVB with about $220 million as of Friday. EUROPEAround 16 tech and life sciences companies in Europe have disclosed about $190 million in exposure to SVB in the UK and the United States.

☆ Exclusive: Hydrogen firm Thyssenkrupp Nucera says IRA spurring U.S. interest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Christoph Steitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Thyssenkrupp Nucera held talks about several potential green hydrogen projects "with very concrete timelines" during a trip to the United States last week, Chief Executive Werner Ponikwar said in an interview. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, is seen as key to decarbonising industry and so meeting climate targets. "We are gaining a new growth market," Ponikwar said. Ponikwar expects the U.S. hydrogen market to grow to a mid double-digit gigawatt (GW) amount by the end of the decade, from just a few hundred megawatts currently. While the IRA supports hydrogen production, it does not require makers of hydrogen equipment to produce locally, unlike other renewable technologies where that's a condition to qualify for credits.

☆ UK's Domino's expects tech investments to hit 2023 profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Domino's Pizza Group Plc (DOM.L) said on Thursday its profit this year would be impacted by investments in cloud-based technology platforms, sending its shares down more than 8%. The company said it expects underlying core profit this year to be within market expectations, excluding about 9 million pounds ($10.69 million) to be incurred in costs from investments in two new cloud-based IT systems. Brokerage Jefferies, however, said the outlook including investment costs implied a 7% decline from the group's market forecast of 137.6 million pounds for 2023. Domino's reported 2022 underlying core profit of 130.1 million pounds, compared with 136.4 million pounds in the previous year, affected by the technology investments, higher costs and food inflation. Shares of London-listed Domino's, a franchisee of U.S.-based Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ.N), was down 8.2% at 0900 GMT.

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) ended up 0.2% at 7,860.07, not far off its all-time high of 7,903.50 points hit in May 2018, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) added 0.7%. "Investors appear to have fallen back in love with UK assets," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown. Money markets are pricing in a 64.3% chance of a 50-basis point hike by the BoE in February to curtail inflation. Oil majors BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L) slipped close to 0.4% each as crude prices fell. ITM Power (ITM.L) slumped 12% after the energy storage and clean fuel company forecast a wider full-year loss.

☆ UK's Morgan Advanced Materials reports cyber security incident on its network
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - British industrial firm Morgan Advanced Materials Plc (MGAMM.L) said on Tuesday it was assessing a cyber security incident after detecting unauthorised activity on its network. The company, which makes a wide range of heat-resistant and other industrial materials, said it had launched an investigation and was taking steps to ensure that its businesses could continue to trade with its customers and suppliers. Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Zimbabwe bans raw lithium exports to curb artisanal mining
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The southern African country holds some of the world's largest reserves of hard rock lithium, a vital mineral in the production of clean energy technologies. London-listed Premier African Minerals (PREM.L) says it will start shipping spodumene concentrate from its Zimbabwe lithium mine to China from March 2023, after signing an offtake deal with Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology Co (300390.SZ). "No lithium bearing ores, or unbeneficiated lithium whatsoever, shall be exported from Zimbabwe to another country," read the regulation published in a government notice issued by Mines Minister Winston Chitando. The notice said the ban does not apply to the export of lithium concentrates, which all the major lithium miners in the country plan to produce. Mnangagwa said the raw lithium was being exported through neighbouring countries.

It could also negatively impact African nations that produce battery materials. The United States has a Free Trade Agreement in place with only one African country, Morocco. Battery materials and trade are set to be a focus at next week's U.S.-Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington where President Joe Biden will meet presidents of African countries including Congo. Under IRA, U.S. carmakers will get tax credits if they source at least 40% of battery materials domestically or from American free-trade partners. His is one of many projects across sub-Saharan Africa aiming to produce battery materials like lithium, nickel and graphite.

☆ UK's FTSE boosted higher by healthcare sector
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, FTSE 250 falls 0.2%GSK escapes U.S. lawsuit on Zantac allegationsMoonpig drops to bottom of FTMCDec 7 (Reuters) - UK's export-oriented FTSE 100 climbed on Wednesday as the healthcare sector was boosted by shares of GSK after the drugmaker escaped U.S. lawsuits over its heartburn drug Zantac. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) edged 0.1% higher by 0930 GMT. The pharmaceutical sector (.FTNMX201030) rose 3.3% in its biggest one-day percentage gain since late February. A nearly 10% jump in shares of GSK Plc (GSK.L) boosted the index after the drugmaker was spared thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming that Zantac caused cancer. The real estate sector (.FTUB3510) fell 0.2% and is down 34% year-to-date and is heading towards its biggest fall since 2008.

[1/2] Zambia's Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane attends the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 15, 2022. Zambia's Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane told Reuters that China had sought clarification from the Zambian government and the IMF on their debt agreement, he said. At the end of 2021, Chinese creditors accounted for almost $6 billion of Zambia's external debt, which was then $17.27 billion. The Export-Import Bank of China is representing all Chinese creditors in their restructuring negotiations with Zambia, Musokotwane said. These include commercial banks, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (601398.SS), Jiangxi Bank (1916.HK) and China Minsheng Bank (600016.SS).

☆ You Be the Ump: World Series Edition
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Michael Beswetherick | Sean Catangui | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Justin Verlander is one of the game’s elite pitchers, and maybe the umpire is giving him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Regardless, it should have been called a ball. Bryce Harper was ready to trot to first base with a walk, but he ended up there anyway. Your browser does not support the video tag. ; pitch paths by The New York Times

☆ FTSE rallies on hopes of fiscal plan reversal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Sruthi Shankar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 0.9%, while the domestically focussed FTSE 250 (.FTMC) added 0.9%. Both indexes have recouped a large part of their losses this week but remain on track to record their fourth weekly decline in five. However, futures point to a weak start for U.S. stocks on Friday, with investors nervously awaiting quarterly reports from big Wall Street banks. read moreEmerging markets-focussed investment group Ashmore (ASHM.L) dipped 2.6% after reporting an $8 billion fall in assets under management for the September quarter. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sri Lanka to unveil debt restructuring plan to creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe looks on during an interview with Reuters at Presidential Secretariat, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka August 18, 2022. The government has already held preliminary restructuring talks with neighbour India and diplomats based in Colombo. "Sri Lanka is focused on trying to get the IMF deal finalised by December or early next year." Sri Lanka's foreign currency debt was $47.3 billion as of end-2021 and local-currency debt at $53.6 billion, according to an update from the Ministry of Finance in August. The foreign currency debt includes $13 billion in international sovereign bonds held largely by private creditors, such as asset managers BlackRock (BLK.N) and Ashmore (ASHM.L).

☆ Factbox: Sri Lanka set to begin talks to restructure debt of $30 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WHY THE NEED TO RESTRUCTURE DEBT? That in turn requires negotiation with private creditors and two-way lenders. That includes $13 billion in international sovereign bonds held largely by private creditors, such as asset managers BlackRock (BLK.N) and Ashmore (ASHM.L). The Paris Club informal group of creditor nations that includes India and Japan holds $4.9 billion of Sri Lanka's debt, and China about $5 billion more. Sri Lanka is the first middle-income country to default after the COVID-19 pandemic.

☆ Energy, consumer staples lift London's FTSE 100 in big week for central banks
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Bansari Mayur Kamdar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) advanced 0.2% at 0809 GMT after a holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth's funeral, supported by a more than 1% jump in oil majors BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L). Consumer staples stocks such as Diageo (DGE.L) and British American Tobacco (BATS.L) rose about 1.5% each on the internationally focussed FTSE 100. "The move today on the FTSE 100 shows just how sensitive the index is to the economy in China," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 7 therapists and lawyers offer keys to navigating the stresses of Big Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-01 | by ( Casey Sullivan | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Employees can use legal protections under the ADA and FMLA to seek help for mental health issues. Insider recently chronicled the stresses of Big Law life. As part of this, we spoke with lawyers who have suffered from depression and, after having taken time to address their mental health issues, have continued to lead successful careers. Beyond legal protections, companies can also work with their employees to offer arrangements that suit their needs, she said. Through the course of our reporting, several lawyers offered actionable pieces of advice that readers could find useful to think about when approaching work.

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