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The risks of doing dealsA British regulator’s decision to reject Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover bid for Activision Blizzard stunned many who had expected the deal to go through. That’s especially because moves this month by the agency, the Competition and Markets Authority, suggested that the transaction might pass muster. Though it narrowed the scope of its Activision deal inquiry to just one issue, cloud gaming, the C.M.A. The tribunal that will weigh Microsoft’s appeal will examine mainly whether the regulator followed proper procedure. That institutional advantage positions the agency as one of the world’s most influential antitrust enforcers, alongside those in the United States and the European Union.

☆ WhatsApp and other messaging apps oppose UK's move on encryption
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - WhatsApp and other messaging services have united to oppose Britain's plan to force tech companies to break end-to-end encryption in private messages in its proposed internet safety legislation. Britain's Online Safety Bill was originally designed to create one of the toughest regimes for regulating platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The British government said the bill in "no way represented a ban on end-to-end encryption, nor would it require services to weaken encryption". The letter signatories said this was incompatible with end-to-end encryption, which enables a message to be read only by the sender and recipient. A British government spokesperson said: "We support strong encryption, but this cannot come at the cost of public safety.

REUTERS/StaffApril 12 (Reuters) - World stocks and bond yields stalled on Wednesday as markets anticipated crucial U.S. inflation data which could give signals on how soon the Federal Reserve will end its aggressive rate hikes. Markets were in wait-and-see mode ahead of the data, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index inching up 0.3% by 0820 GMT, while Britain's FTSE (.FTSE) was up 0.6%. Government bond yields were also little moved with benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields unchanged on the day at 3.43%. "We do not assume that the discrepancy between Fed and market expectations will end today or in the near future," Reichelt said. With oil prices rising again and labour market cooling only gradually, risk remains tilted for core inflation to remain elevated for longer," they said.

☆ Asian stocks ease ahead of US inflation data, Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Eurostoxx 50 futures was down 0.16%, German DAX futures up 0.01% and FTSE futures down 0.07%. The consumer price index is expected to show core inflation rose 0.4% on a monthly basis and 5.6% year-over-year in March, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Markets are now pricing in a 66% chance of the Fed raising interest rates by 25 basis points in May and then pausing for the subsequent meetings, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The Fed last month raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, taking it to a range of 4.75% to 5.00%. With oil prices rising again and labour market cooling only gradually, risk remains tilted for core inflation to remain elevated for longer," they said.

☆ Asian stocks subdued ahead of US inflation data, Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Data on Tuesday showed China's consumer inflation in March was at its slowest since September 2021. The consumer price index is expected to show core inflation rose 0.4% on a monthly basis and 5.6% year-over-year in March, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Markets are now pricing in a 66% chance of the Fed raising interest rates by 25 basis points in May and then pausing for the subsequent meetings, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The Fed last month raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, taking it to a range of 4.75% to 5.00%. "Investors seem to be getting ahead of themselves in expecting the Fed to begin cutting interest rates", said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management.

☆ Russia is offering bonus pay for soldiers who can destroy tanks supplied by NATO, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

NATO countries such as the US, Germany, and Poland have agreed to send tanks to aid Ukraine. Leaked documents show that Russia is offering troops "financial incentives" to destroy them, per NYT. Videos of the tanks being destroyed will then be used to boost Russia's confidence, documents say. Some of the leaked documents also showed that Ukraine may deplete its air defenses by May, emboldening Russia to utilize bomber jets against Ukrainian forces. One repeated misstep by Russia was sending a fleet of unprotected tanks into an ambush in Bucha and, later, in Vuhledar.

April 6 (Reuters) - Canada on Thursday said it will deploy a military aircraft to Japan to support implementation of United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. China and Russia have also blamed joint military drills by the United States and South Korea for provoking Pyongyang. Meanwhile, Washington has accused Beijing and Moscow of emboldening North Korea by shielding it from more sanctions. For the past several years, the Security Council has been divided over how to deal with Pyongyang.

☆ Why big investors like Carlyle and Ares are zeroing in on Hollywood and sports deals — and driving private credit in media to new highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

And Ares raised $3.7 billion for a fund last fall geared specifically toward sports, media, and entertainment investments across private debt and private equity. Unlike private equity investing, where managers take stakes in companies or buy them, private credit investors lend to businesses and make money on interest payments. (Private investment firm KKR's media, entertainment, and sports portfolio includes Insider parent company Axel Springer.) Carlyle's $146 billion credit arm has also provided capital to Clair, a media tech company that specializes in live production services and audio products. The strategists said driving that uptick are private credit defaults that include so-called softer forms of default, like breaching a loan's terms and conditions, along with private credit portfolio companies having generally lower ratings and less diversified businesses.

☆ Netanyahu fires defense minister for urging halt to overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen during the the 2016 Genesis Prize award-ceremony in Jerusalem, June 23, 2016. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister on Sunday, a day after he called on the Israeli leader to halt a planned judicial overhaul that has fiercely divided the country and prompted growing discontent within the ranks of the military. "The prime minister of Israel is a threat to the security of the state of Israel," Lapid wrote on Twitter. "The prime minister will be forced to bow his head before the law and comply with the provisions of the law." The prime minister responded saying the appeal should be dismissed and said that the Supreme Court didn't have grounds to intervene.

☆ US, China, Russia argue over North Korea at United Nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File PhotoUNITED NATIONS, March 20 (Reuters) - The United States, China and Russia argued during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday over who was to blame for spurring North Korea's dozens of ballistic missile launches and development of a nuclear weapons program. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions for its missile and nuclear programs since 2006. China and Russia blamed joint military drills by the United States and South Korea for provoking Pyongyang while Washington accuses Beijing and Moscow of emboldening North Korea by shielding it from more sanctions. Russia and China, veto powers along with the United States, Britain and France, have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased.

Investors had begun to doubt the ECB's commitment to another big rate hike this week after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the U.S. sent ripples through global financial markets. The source added that formal proposals for the meeting had not yet been distributed but policymakers had seen the new quarterly projections. They were likely to push back against committing to further rate increases and say instead that any new move would depend on incoming data. The ECB can push through decisions with a simple majority though President Lagarde has been known to seek the broadest possible consensus. Investors have sharply cut their bets on further rate rises since the SVB collapse, with the deposit rate now seen peaking at 3.65% in the autumn, compared with an outlook last week of more than 4%.

☆ Chris Christie compares Ron DeSantis' stance on Ukraine to appeasing Hitler before WWII
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Chris Christie compared Ron DeSantis to British PM Neville Chamberlain over his Ukraine stance. Chamberlain is accused of appeasing Adolf Hitler before World War II. DeSantis, who is rumored to be preparing a 2024 bid, has questioned US support for Ukraine. Chris Christie has compared Ron DeSantis to the British Prime Minister accused of appeasing Adolf Hitler before World War II. "[DeSantis] sounds like Neville Chamberlain talking about when Germany had designs on Czechoslovakia," Christie told Axios Tuesday.

☆ Buy these 24 quality stocks to safeguard your portfolio from higher interest rates, according to BMO Capital Markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Here are 24 high-quality stocks to buy now to protect your portfolio from higher rates. But when the Fed's rate hikes fully go into effect, excess savings will dry up, and pent-up demand will fade. Labor market resilience and the Fed's latest messaging about the possibility of more rate hikes makes that dovish outcome "highly unlikely," Porter wrote. The Fed's interest rate decision — and potentially the economy's near-term future — hinges on how hot or cool inflation is in next Tuesday's report. BMO Capital MarketsBelow are 24 US stocks that currently have the best prospects for strong risk-adjusted returns, according to BMO.

☆ Morning Bid: Markets March on China boomlet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And after a bruising setback for stocks and bonds in February, investors now have to assess whether the unfolding economic rebound is sustainable given the eye-watering revision that it's forcing in inflation and interest rate expectations. This is emboldening both the hawks at the European Central Bank and markets keen to re-price the interest rate horizon. Money markets have already moved beyond that and now price peak ECB rates at year-end almost 150 bps higher at 3.90%. Even though U.S. consumer confidence and housing data on Tuesday questioned some of the reheating narrative, markets now assume peak Federal Reserve rates will be as high as 5.42% by July. And homebuilder Persimmon (PSN.L) dropped almost 10% after it warned the housing slowdown and higher mortgage rates would hit profit and home-building targets.

☆ Services and jobs are bright spots for this economy, says Hightower's Stephanie Link
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | 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 EmailServices and jobs are bright spots for this economy, says Hightower's Stephanie LinkRitholtz Wealth Management's Josh Brown, Hightower Advisors' Stephanie Link, Virtus Investment Partners' Joe Terranova and SVB Private's Shannon Saccocia join the 'Halftime Report' to discuss 2023's early-year rally, fear manifesting itself in the options market and strength in the economy emboldening the Fed.

☆ Watch CNBC's mid-day market discussion with Josh Brown, Stephanie Link, Joe Terranova, and Shannon Saccocia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's mid-day market discussion with Josh Brown, Stephanie Link, Joe Terranova, and Shannon SaccociaJosh Brown of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Stephanie Link of Hightower Advisors, Joe Terranova of Virtus Investment Partners and Shannon Saccocia of SVB Private join the 'Halftime Report' to discuss 2023's early-year rally, fear manifesting itself in the options market and strength in the economy emboldening the Fed.

“Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms,” Mr. Biden said, using Mr. Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan to describe the former president’s allies. While he had repeatedly and consistently said he intended to run, Mr. Biden stoked renewed speculation by delaying his kickoff for months. Mr. Biden tapped Julie Chávez Rodríguez, a senior White House adviser and granddaughter of the iconic labor leader Cesar Chávez, as his campaign manager. But the operation is expected to be overseen from the White House by top presidential aides. While polls show that most Democrats have favorable opinions about Mr. Biden, a majority of them would still rather he not run again.

☆ Asia shares slip ahead of expected weak China economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Asia shares mostly slipped on Tuesday ahead of Beijing's expected release of weak fourth-quarter economic data, although investor sentiment about China's rebound remained positive even as the global economy edges closer to recession. MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was down 0.18% at 0127 GMT. "I think investors will look through the Q4 GDP prints and focus on 2023," said Redmond Wong, Greater China market strategist at Saxo Markets Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) opened down 0.3% while China's benchmark CSI300 Index (.CSI300) remained flat. Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Bank of Japan's yield curve control in danger as policy backfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

In a sign of its resolve to defend the yield cap, the BOJ on Monday announced plans to conduct additional, emergency bond-buying. To be sure, with global commodity prices falling, private analysts agree with Kuroda that inflation will slow back toward the BOJ's target later this year. It's better to remove the 10-year yield target, but overhauling YCC would raise questions of accountability." Data on Friday will likely show Japan's core consumer prices rose 4.0% in December, double the BOJ's target and a fresh 41-year high, a Reuters poll showed. "If markets continue to ask more from the BOJ, YCC may not last that long."

☆ North Korea cautions sanctions and pressure will fuel more hostility
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Nov 24 (Reuters) - North Korea on Thursday denounced Seoul's push to impose additional sanctions on Pyongyang following its repeated missile launches, saying such measures will add to the North's "hostility and anger," state media KCNA reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, made the remarks in a statement carried by KCNA, calling South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol "and other idiots" a "faithful dog" of the United States. It said sanctions on the cyber sector were among those considered in case the North pushes ahead with a nuclear test. North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches this year. For months Washington has said North Korea could conduct a nuclear bomb test, the first since 2017, at any time.

☆ U.S. calls for U.N. Security Council president's statement on North Korea missiles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said it was vital the 15-member Security Council respond with one voice and reiterated U.S. charges that China and Russia were "emboldening" Pyongyang by blocking council action. The United States will be proposing a Presidential Statement to this end," she said, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He said Washington should take the initiative and put forward realistic proposals to respond to North Korea's "legitimate concerns." A spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations said a draft president's statement would be shared with the Security Council soon and negotiations would follow. It said the Council must act to limit the advancement of North Korea's weapons programs.

☆ Companies Brace for Onslaught of New Activists After Change in Proxy-Voting Rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Lauren Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A surge of newcomer activists has been building since last year, when a little-known hedge fund prevailed in a proxy battle against Exxon Mobil Corp. Sinking stock prices and a change in proxy-voting rules are emboldening many first-time shareholder activists to seek changes at some of the biggest names in American corporations. Companies, always wary of activist advances, are feeling particularly vulnerable as a result of new rules imposed by U.S. regulators in September requiring the use of a so-called universal proxy card in corporate-director elections, bankers and lawyers say.

☆ Indonesia’s green step not yet a leap for mankind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

That’s where the private sector comes in, and why Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) are a potential game changer. More significantly, seven international banks, including HSBC (HSBA.L), (0005.HK), Citigroup and Bank of America (BAC.N), have promised to match that amount. International Finance Corporation figures show that “concessional” finance extended by public bodies at below-market rates can often attract 10 times its own level in private finance. The GFANZ working group will need to ensure Jakarta is sticking to its side of the decarbonisation bargain. The GFANZ group includes Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered.

☆ One factory worker takes on Mexico's powerful unions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

CTM representatives say their unions defend worker rights, offer perks such as scholarships and sports programs and abide by Mexico's new labor rules. Along with La Liga, other new unions have also won victories over powerful rivals in the past year at GM, Japan's Panasonic (6752.T) and French glassmaker Saint-Gobain (SGOB.PA), pledging better pay. Even among the new crop, La Liga stands out for its broader vision: targeting companies no matter the sector, no matter the location. Leaving her three kids at home, she is traveling factory to factory seeking support. What's more, to drum up support, La Liga must fight a deeply embedded culture of fear and apathy around speaking out.

☆ Following the fall of Roe v. Wade, telemedicine startup Hey Jane just raised $6.1 million to increase access to abortion pills
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Abortion telemedicine startup Hey Jane raised $6.1 million in funding. Reproductive health startups are receiving more attention from VCs following the fall of Roe v. Wade. The fall of Roe v. Wade earlier this year has caused some states to restrict access to abortions and has thrown reproductive rights into the spotlight. Hey Jane raised $6.1 million in Series A funding from female-led Ulu Ventures, The Helm, Amboy Street, Portfolia, and G9. Moving forward, a key area of focus for Hey Jane will be increasing awareness of medication abortion to the general public, as well as access.

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