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☆ Rupee set to rally on India's inclusion in JPMorgan bond index
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open at around 82.80-82.82 to the U.S. dollar, compared with 83.09 in the previous session. Indian government bonds will be included in the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets index and the index suite, JPMorgan said on Friday. Inclusion will start on June 28, 2024, and extend over 10 months with 1% increments on its index weighting. India's inclusion in the JPMorgan index increases the probability of inclusion into the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bonds Index, which, IDFC First Bank estimates, could lead to additional inflows of $15 billion to $20 billion. The dollar index reached 105.74 on Thursday, the highest in over six months.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Nimesh Vora, Savio D'Souza Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S ., Government Bond, JPMorgan, IDFC, Bank, Bloomberg, Treasury, U.S . Federal, ING Bank, Brent, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Rights MUMBAI

☆ UK's Mothercare says it expects to complete refinancing shortly
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Mothercare (MTC.L) expects to complete a refinancing shortly and will remain in discussions with stakeholders and financing partners to ensure adequate financing, the British baby products retailer said on Friday. Mothercare also posted a 44% drop in its full-year adjusted core profit to 6.7 million pounds ($8.21 million), which sent the London-listed company's stock tumbling 15.6% in early trade. The company has been struggling with the unprecedented demand shock caused by the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and high interest rates. Its total cash was 7.1 million pounds as of March 25, down from 9.2 million pounds, a year ago. ($1 = 0.8159 pounds)Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mothercare, Daniel Le Vesconte, Aatrayee Chatterjee, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Thomson Locations: London, Russia, Ukraine, Bengaluru

☆ Indian shares set for subdued open as Fed angst weighs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sethuraman N R | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man walks past the new logo of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, July 12, 2023. Already, foreign investors have been net sellers so far this month, offloading shares worth $996.2 million as of Sept. 20. Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth 31.11 billion rupees ($375.2 million), on a net basis, on Wednesday and 30.07 billion rupees worth on Thursday, according to stock exchange data. Domestic investors, meanwhile sold shares worth 5.73 billion rupees on Wednesday but bought shares worth 11.58 billion rupees on Thursday, the data showed. Meanwhile, Indian government bonds will be included in JPMorgan's widely tracked emerging market debt index from June 2024, the Wall Street bank said on Friday.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Dalal, Aparna Iyer, Raja, Tesla, Archishma Iyer, Anisha Ajith, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Bombay Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, NSE, Exchange, BSE, Federal Reserve, Wipro, LG Energy, Exide Industries, Power Systems, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Sciences, Glenmark Pharma, Teck Resources, Sethuraman NR, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Teck

REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Indian bond markets won't see a jump in volatility in the near-term after JPMorgan (JPM.N) announced India's inclusion in its widely tracked emerging market debt index, BlackRock's head of Asia Pacific fixed income said on Friday. JPMorgan said 23 Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) with a combined notional value of $330 billion were eligible for inclusion in its Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and index suite, benchmarked by about $236 billion in global funds. Given the size of the $2 trillion global government bond market, it may add only a little bit to the volatility in Indian bond markets, Seth told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. Foreign investor buying in Indian bonds has remained tepid with net purchases of $3.4 billion so far in 2023. He also pointed to investment-grade credit in Asia and higher quality emerging market bonds, in a "tilt towards quality" as macro uncertainties persist.

Persons: Thomas White, Neeraj Seth, Seth, Divya Chowdhury, Savio Shetty, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, JPMorgan, Asia Pacific, Government, BlackRock, Reuters Global Markets, Thomson Locations: India, Rights MUMBAI, Asia, Mumbai

☆ Broadcom falls on report Google discussed dropping firm as AI chip supplier
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The report said Google's deliberations follow a standoff between the company and Broadcom over the price of the TPU chips. Broadcom, Google and Marvell did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Broadcom is seen as the second-biggest winner from the generative AI boom after Nvidia (NVDA.O). Google co-designs its AI chips with Broadcom and tech giant has already lined up the semiconductor firm for its sixth generation processor, the analysts said. That push has accelerated this year after prices surged for Nvidia's H100, the chip that powers most generative AI apps, to nearly double its original cost of $20,000.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Marvell, Hock Tan, Morgan, Kanjyik Ghosh, Aditya Soni, Savio D'Souza, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Broadcom, REUTERS, Google, Microsoft, Marvell Technology, Nvidia, Meta, Nvidia's, Thomson Locations: J.P, Bengaluru

☆ European shares slide on hawkish Fed; more c.bank decisions on tap
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary STOXX 600 down 0.6%Sept 21 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled higher-for-longer interest rates and ahead of rate decisions from the Swiss National Bank, Riksbank, Norges Bank and Bank of England. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) shed 0.6% by 0709 GMT, with rate-sensitive tech stocks (.SX8P) easing 0.8%. The Fed held key interest rates steady on Wednesday, as widely expected, and revised economic projections higher with warnings that the battle against inflation was far from over. The focus is now also on the monetary policy decisions in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and the UK later in the day after the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its key interest rate last week to a record high of 4%. Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bansari Mayur, Savio D'Souza Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Swiss National Bank, Norges Bank and Bank of England, Fed, Nasdaq, European Central Bank, FTSE, Thomson Locations: Riksbank, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Bengaluru

☆ Indian chemicals maker Epigral expects revenue from newer products to surge this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Savio Shetty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 21 (Reuters) - Indian chemicals maker Epigral (EPIG.NS) will keep diversifying its business and expects the share of revenue from new products to expand significantly this year, its chairman and managing director told Reuters on Thursday. At that time, we were catering to seven industries," Maulik Patel told the Reuters Trading India forum. The specialty chemicals market represents 22% of India's overall chemicals and petrochemicals market and is valued at $32 billion, according to KPMG. It exports its products to more than 20 countries including South Africa and the United States. (Join Trading India, a chat room hosted on Refinitiv Messenger: https://bit.ly/3TNDwkC)($1 = 83.0434 Indian rupees)Reporting by Savio Shetty; Editing by Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maulik Patel, Patel, Epigral, Savio Shetty, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Reuters, Reuters Trading, KPMG, Thomson Locations: Gujarat, Reuters Trading India, India, Ahmedabad, South Africa, United States

☆ India's Wipro says CFO Dalal resigns, replaced by 20-year veteran Iyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Wipro Ltd logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, April 10, 2023. Dalal will be replaced by Aparna Iyer, also a 20-year veteran who was most recently senior vice president and CFO of Wipro's cloud services unit, the company said. While Iyer will take over as CFO on Sept. 22, Dalal will stay on until Nov. 30, Wipro said. Dalal, who became CFO in 2015, and CEO Thierry Delaporte guided Wipro through the pandemic years as demand for digital services boomed. Delaporte said in a statement that Iyer has been integral to Wipro's finance transformation over the last few years.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jatin Dalal, Aparna Iyer, Iyer, Dalal, Thierry Delaporte, Goldman Sachs, Delaporte, Ashish Chandra, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Wipro, REUTERS, Rights, Indian IT, Thomson Locations: Indian, Bengaluru

☆ BofA lifts S&P 500 2023-end target by 7%, led by "old economy" stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The S&P 500 is up 15.7% so far this year, largely driven by a rally in a handful of mega-cap growth stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Meta (META.O) that have ridden the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. While the rally has been moderating, BofA remains in "neutral" to "positive" territory on U.S. stocks, with a bias towards equal-weighted stocks, strategists led by Savita Subramanian said. An equal-weight index assigns uniform weights to each constituent, unlike a market capitalization-based index, like the S&P 500, where bigger companies tend to have an outsized influence. Equal-weighted stocks have less volatile earnings, smaller differences in analysts' estimates, and are cheaper and less crowded than growth stocks, Subramanian said. While a "fresh wave of bear narratives around equities have emerged", BofA says the "old economy", which includes value stocks - more prevalent in the equal-weighted S&P 500 - could benefit as much as tech and growth.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Savita Subramanian, Subramanian, BofA, Morgan Stanley, Susan Mathew, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Dow Jones, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Street, Nvidia, Tech, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Bengaluru

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 11, 2023. Energy (.SPNY) was the top S&P 500 sector gainer, up 1.1%, as crude prices firmed near the $95-per-barrel mark on tight supply. Chipmaker Micron Technology (MU.O) rose 1.3%, following Friday's rout, after Deutsche Bank upgraded its stock rating to "buy" from "hold". Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and 11 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 172 new lows.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Bernstein, Piper Sandler, Paul Nolte, Goldman Sachs, Janus Henderson, Wells, MoffettNathanson, Ankika Biswas, Shristi, Savio D'Souza, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Corp, Holdings, Micron, L3Harris, Dow, Nasdaq, Energy, VF, Microsoft, U.S, Treasury, Murphy, Sylvest Wealth Management, Traders, Morgan Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Arm Holdings, Dow Jones, Chipmaker Micron Technology, Deutsche Bank, L3Harris Technologies, PayPal Holdings, NYSE, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Bengaluru

A slew of recent hotter-than-expected economic data has eased recession concerns without raising fears of a September rate hike. "Further rate hikes would risk sending the economy into a hard landing," said Thomas Simons, U.S. economist at Jefferies. "Instead, the Fed can look to a strategy of maintaining current policy rates for a long time as the best way to administer restrictive monetary policy to the economy." ET, Dow e-minis were up 31 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 5.25 points, or 0.12%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 23 points, or 0.15%. Asset management firm Blackstone Inc (BX.N) and vacation rentals platform Airbnb (ABNB.O), which are set to join the S&P 500 before the bell on Monday, were down 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Blackstone, Thomas Simons, Goldman Sachs, Janus Henderson, Wells, Ankika Biswas, Shristi, Savio D'Souza, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Micron, Deutsche Bank, Airbnb, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Traders, Jefferies, Morgan Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Bank of England, Bank of, Dow e, Micron Technology, Blackstone Inc, L3Harris Technologies, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Bank of Japan, Bengaluru

☆ FTSE 100 slips at open ahead of Fed, BoE monetary policy decisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.2%Sept 18 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 slipped at open on Monday as investors await interest rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England (BoE), while Britain's main manufacturing trade body cut its forecast for the sector's growth for this year. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) slipped 0.1% by 0712 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) was down 0.2%. Britain's main manufacturing trade body cut its forecast for the sector's growth for this year and next, citing a sharp fall in factory output and economic uncertainty. Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, BoE, Siddarth, Savio D'Souza Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Phoenix Group, Mondi, Sezar, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Russia, Moscow, Bengaluru

☆ What industry experts, leaders say about the autoworkers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

SAM FIORANI, PRODUCTION FORECASTER AT AUTO FORECAST SOLUTIONS:"This is more of a symbolic strike than an actual damaging one ... DEMOCRATIC U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ELISSA SLOTKIN OF MICHIGAN:"I'm looking forward to joining our auto workers on the picket line this weekend. DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT:"The all Electric (car) is a disaster for both the United Auto Workers and the American Consumer. The targeted strike is intended to give UAW flexibility strike fund duration." SUZANNE CLARK, CEO OF US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE"The UAW strike and indeed the 'summer of strikes' is the natural result of the Biden administration's 'whole of government' approach to promoting unionization at all costs."

Persons: MARY BARRA, who's, we've, Shawn, Fain, DAN IVES, KOJI ENDO, LEE JAE, ARTHUR WHEATON, It's, ELISSA SLOTKIN, JAY TIMMONS, MONICA BOSIO, Stellantis, MARTINO, AMBROGGI, DONALD TRUMP, CHRIS MCNALLY, COLIN LANGAN, AT WELLS, PATRICK ANDERSON, JOHN MURPHY, Ford, ROBERT STREDA, DBRS, SUZANNE CLARK, Biden, Joseph White, David Shepardson, Trevor Hunnicutt, Peter Henderson, Heekyong Yang, Daniel Leussink, Giulio Piovaccari, Mehr Bedi, Medha Singh, Anne Marie Roantree, Jamie Freed, Savio D'Souza, Arun Koyyur Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Ford Bronco, Chevrolet, CNBC, GM, SBI, EUGENE, South, CORNELL SCHOOL, Company, DEMOCRATIC U.S, ELISSA SLOTKIN OF, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, American Consumer, ISI, AT, Detroit, Thomson Locations: Chevrolet Colorado, Detroit, United States, ELISSA SLOTKIN OF MICHIGAN, China, Washington, San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Milan, Bengaluru

☆ WhatsApp denies report that the platform is exploring ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed WhatsApp logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 15 (Reuters) - WhatsApp's top head on Friday denied a Financial Times report that said the Meta Platforms-owned (META.O) messaging platform was exploring advertisements as it sought to boost revenue. We aren't doing this," WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The report said that teams at Meta were discussing whether to show ads in lists of conversations with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen, but no final decisions had been made, citing people familiar with the matter. Facebook bought WhatsApp, which has always been a free chat app, in 2014 for $19 billion.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Will Cathcart, Meta, WhatsApp, it's, Mark Zuckerberg, Kanjyik Ghosh, Shubham, Sonia Cheema, Savio D'Souza Organizations: REUTERS, Times, Twitter, Meta, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

The S&P 500 climbed 0.12% to end the session at 4,467.44 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.29% to 13,813.59 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.20% to 34,575.53 points. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary index (.SPLRCD) climbed 0.9%, lifted as Ford Motor (F.N) rallied 1.5% on the vehicle maker's plans to double the production of its hybrid F-150 pickup trucks in 2024. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) by a 1.5-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 10 new highs and 11 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 20 new highs and 199 new lows.

Persons: Victoria Fernandez, Raindrops, Mike Segar, that's, Keith Buchanan, Jane Fraser, Xpeng, Ankika Biswas, Shristi, Shubham Batra, Noel Randewich, Savio D'Souza, Vinay Dwivedi, Deepa Babington Organizations: Citi, Nasdaq, Dow, Federal Reserve, Microsoft, Dow Jones, Ford, Crossmark Global Investment, Wall, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, GLOBALT Investments, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Citigroup, European Commission, Sprit Airlines, Moderna, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Atlanta, Bengaluru, Oakland, Calif

Megacap growth stocks Tesla (TSLA.O), Meta Platforms (META.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) gained for much of the session. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 5.87 points, or 0.13%, to end at 4,467.77 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 39.96 points, or 0.29%, to 13,813.59. Data showed consumer prices increased by the most in 14 months in August as gasoline prices surged, but the annual rise in underlying inflation was the smallest in nearly two years. Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 26, 2020. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe Fed is unlikely to cut rates before the April-June period next year, a Reuters poll showed.

Persons: Victoria Fernandez, Mike Segar, that's, Keith Buchanan, Jane Fraser, Xpeng, Ankika Biswas, Shristi, Shubham Batra, Noel Randewich, Savio D'Souza, Vinay Dwivedi, Deepa Babington Organizations: Citi, Federal Reserve, Microsoft, Apple, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Ford, Crossmark Global Investment, Wall, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, GLOBALT Investments, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Citigroup, European Commission, Sprit, Moderna, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Atlanta, Bengaluru, Oakland, Calif

Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 26, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Spirit Airlines slips on revenue outlook cutFord rises on plans to double production of pickup trucksConsumer prices data due at 8:30 a.m. ETFutures down: Dow 0.12%, S&P 0.12%, Nasdaq 0.15%Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures inched lower on Wednesday as higher oil prices fuel worries about sticky inflation and stoke interest-rate concerns ahead of CPI data. "All indications are that higher oil costs are going to influence the headline inflation print. Investors will also closely monitor August producer prices and retail sales data on Thursday ahead of the Fed's Sept. 20 policy decision.

Persons: Mike Segar, Tim Waterer, Li Auto, Ankika Biswas, Shristi, Shubham Batra, Savio D'Souza, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: Wall, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Spirit Airlines, Dow, Nasdaq, stoke, Labor, KCM, Federal Reserve, Dow e, Apple, Li, European Commission, Sprit Airlines, Moderna, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Xpeng, Bengaluru

☆ Metro Bank shares dip as mortgage risk model change drags
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 12 (Reuters) - Britain's Metro Bank (MTRO.L) said on Tuesday that the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) would likely not approve its application to use internal credit risk models in its residential mortgages business this year. Shares in the lender fell 7% in early trading as stock-holders reacted to the news. Without permission to use its own risk models, Metro Bank remains subject to higher capital requirements set by the regulator, which have weighed on returns for its investors. "The board retains conviction in the merits of Metro Bank's customer-centric model and strongly believes that there is a significant opportunity set that the company can capitalise on, subject to renewed balance sheet strength," Metro said. "Larger scale is needed to absorb the high, branch-centric expense base which can be achieved only if current capital constraints ... are resolved," Peel Hunt said.

Persons: Peel Hunt, Radhika Anilkumar, Sinead Cruise, Savio D'Souza, Rashmi Aich, Iain Withers Organizations: Britain's Metro Bank, Bank of England's Prudential, Authority, Metro Bank, Metro, Peel, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, London

☆ Tesla jumps on prediction supercomputer unit could add $600 bln to mkt value
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dojo can open up new addressable markets that "extend well beyond selling vehicles at a fixed price," Morgan Stanley analysts led by Adam Jonas said in a note on Sunday. The Wall Street brokerage upgraded Tesla's stock to "overweight" from "equal-weight" and made it their "top pick," replacing Ferrari's U.S.-listed shares . That's about 76% higher than Tesla's market value of about $789 billion, based on the stock's close of $248.5 on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised its revenue estimate from Tesla's network services business to $335 billion in 2040, from $157 billion earlier. Jonas expects the unit to account for more than 60% of Tesla's core earnings by 2040, nearly doubling from 2030.

Persons: Matthew Childs, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, Adam Jonas, Jonas, Roshan Abraham, Susan Mathew, Medha Singh, Savio D'Souza, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Rashmi Organizations: REUTERS, Dojo, Ferrari's U.S, Ford, Motors, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bengaluru

[1/2] Hostess Brands "Twinkies" are displayed in a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. July 5, 2016. Smucker (SJM.N) said on Monday it will buy Twinkies-maker Hostess Brands (TWNK.O) in a $5.6 billion deal, as major U.S. packaged food companies look to expand their brand portfolios with pandemic-era fortunes dwindling. J. M. Smucker will pay Hostess shareholders $34.25 per share in a cash and stock deal, representing a premium of 54% since the day before the report surfaced. Hostess Brands became an acquisition target after it managed to boost its revenue through price hikes that fueled investor concerns over its prospects with its volume growth consistently declining. Smucker and Hostess deal follows a spree of other deals including that of Campbell Soup's (CPB.N) $2.7 billion deal for Rao's sauce maker Sovos Brands (SOVO.O) and Unilever (ULVR.L) buying premium frozen yogurt brand Yasso in North America.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Smucker, Campbell Soup's, Hostess, Ding Dongs, Dimpal Gulwani, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Anirban Sen, Savio D'Souza, Shinjini Organizations: REUTERS, Hostess Brands, Reuters, Hostess, Mills Inc, Mondelez, PepsiCo Inc, Hershey Co, Sovos, Unilever, Hos, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, North America, Lenexa , Kansas, Ho, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Tesla supercomputer could boost EV maker's market cap by $600 bln -Morgan Stanley
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 11 (Reuters) - Tesla's (TSLA.O) supercomputer, Dojo, to train AI models for autonomous cars could give the electric vehicle maker an "asymmetric advantage" and boost its market capitalization by nearly $600 billion, or 76%, Morgan Stanley estimated. Tesla started production of Dojo in July and plans to spend more than $1 billion through next year. Dojo can open up new addressable markets that "extend well beyond selling vehicles at a fixed price," Morgan Stanley analysts, led by Adam Jonas, said in a note published on Sunday. The Wall Street brokerage upgraded its recommendation on Tesla's stock to "overweight" from "equal-weight" and made it their "top pick," replacing Ferrari's U.S.-listed shares . That compares with its current market value of about $789 billion, after the stock closed at $248.5 on Friday.

Persons: Matthew Childs, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, Adam Jonas, Jonas, Roshan Abraham, Susan Mathew, Savio D'Souza Organizations: REUTERS, Dojo, Ferrari's U.S, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bengaluru

☆ Tesla jumps as analyst predicts $600 billion value boost from Dojo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of car manufacturer Tesla is seen at a dealership in London, Britain, May 14, 2021. REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 11 (Reuters) - Tesla rallied 6% on Monday after Morgan Stanley said its Dojo supercomputer could power a near $600 billion surge in the electric-car maker's market value by helping speed up its foray into robotaxis and software services. The Wall Street brokerage upgraded Tesla's stock to "overweight" from "equal-weight" and replaced Ferrari's U.S.-listed shares with it as "top pick". That is about 76% higher than Tesla's market value of about $789 billion, based on the stock's close of $248.5 on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised its revenue estimate for Tesla's network services business to $335 billion in 2040 from $157 billion earlier.

Persons: Matthew Childs, Tesla, Morgan Stanley, Adam Jonas, Jonas, Roshan Abraham, Susan Mathew, Medha Singh, Savio D'Souza, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Rashmi Aich, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, Dojo, Ford, Motors, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Ferrari's U.S, Bengaluru

[1/2] Hostess Brands "Twinkies" are displayed in a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. July 5, 2016. Smucker (SJM.N) on Monday agreed to buy Twinkies maker Hostess Brands (TWNK.O) for $5.6 billion including debt in a deal that unites two major American snack makers. The deal was worth about $4.6 billion excluding debt, with Jif peanut butter maker Smucker paying Hostess shareholders $34.25 per share. Campbell Soup's (CPB.N) recent acquisition of Rao's sauce maker Sovos Brands (SOVO.O) represented an adjusted EBITDA multiple of 14.6 times, including run rate savings, and 19.8 times excluding those. Based in Lenexa, Kansas, Hostess was founded in 1930 and is behind several iconic household brands, including Ho-Hos, Ding Dongs, Zingers, and Voortman cookies and wafers.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Smucker, Campbell Soup's, Smucker's, Campbell, Hostess, Ding Dongs, Dean Metropoulos, Alec Gores, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Anirban Sen, Abigail Summerville, Dimpal, Savio D'Souza, Shinjini Ganguli, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Hostess Brands, Reuters, Sovos, JPMorgan, Sovos Brands, Hos, Smucker, Apollo Global Management Inc, Hostess, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, North America, Lenexa , Kansas, Ho, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Alchemy Copyrights to buy Round Hill Music for about $469 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 8 (Reuters) - Alchemy Copyrights has agreed to buy music copyright-focussed investment firm Round Hill Music Royalty Fund (RHM.L) for about $468.8 million, the companies said on Friday, giving it access to songs including Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way". Shareholders in Round Hill Music will get $1.15 in cash per scheme share, representing a premium of about 67% to the stock's closing price on Thursday. Alchemy Copyrights, trading as Concord, is an acquirer of music rights and companies, with transactions spanning recorded music, music publishing and theatricals. Round Hill Music's portfolio of music rights comprises 51 catalogues with a collection of more than 150,000 songs, including Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" and the Beatles' "She Loves You". Guernsey-based Round Hill Music has seen shares slide this past year due to inflationary pressures and a higher interest rate environment, which have impacted many listed alternative investment companies.

Persons: Yadarisa, Savio D'Souza, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: Royalty, Backstreet, Thomson Locations: Concord, Guernsey, Bengaluru

☆ Summit Materials to buy Cementos Argos' US unit in $3.2 bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Ananta Agarwal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Cement silos of Colombian cement maker Argos are pictured at a plant in Bogota, Colombia May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez Acquire Licensing RightsSept 7 (Reuters) - Summit Materials (SUM.N) said on Thursday it would buy the U.S. operations of Columbia's Cementos Argos (CCB.CN) for about $3.2 billion in cash and stock, in a deal that would make the combined entity the largest U.S.-based cement producer. Cementos Argos, the core unit of industrial conglomerate Grupo Argos (ARG.CN), will own a 31% stake in Summit and receive $1.2 billion in cash payments, subject to certain conditions. The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2024, could lead to annual cost savings of more than $100 million, Summit said. Shares of Summit Materials fell 7.92% in mid-day trading.

Persons: Luisa Gonzalez, Columbia's Cementos, Argos, Summit, Anne Noonan, Morgan Stanley, Ananta Agarwal, Savio D'Souza, Maju Samuel, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Grupo Argos, Summit, BofA Securities, Thomson Locations: Argos, Bogota, Colombia, U.S, Mid, Atlantic, Texas, Summit

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