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☆ UBS tells investors 'Herculean' Credit Suisse takeover will pay off
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Buildings of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen on the Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoBASEL, April 5 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) executives sought to assure investors on Wednesday that Switzerland's largest bank can make its unexpected takeover of Swiss rival Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) work and pay off for its shareholders. "We believe the transaction is financially attractive for UBS shareholders," he said. Looking at how to navigate the mammoth task of integrating Credit Suisse, the success of which Switzerland depends on, UBS has already taken the first steps. "The acquisition of Credit Suisse will be a major challenge," Hamers said, while echoing the bank's chairman in highlighting new opportunities.

☆ UBS seeks to assure investors shotgun Credit Suisse takeover can pay off
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Buildings of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen on the Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland, March 20, 2023. "We believe the transaction is financially attractive for UBS shareholders," he said. The hastily arranged rescue, not only angered and unsettled both banks' shareholders, but also many in Switzerland. Looking at how to navigate the mammoth task of integrating Credit Suisse, the success of which Switzerland depends on, UBS has already taken the first steps. "The acquisition of Credit Suisse will be a major challenge," Hamers said, while echoing the bank's chairman in highlighting new opportunities.

☆ UBS faces investors after shotgun Credit Suisse takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Last month, Swiss authorities announced that UBS would buy Credit Suisse in a shotgun merger to stem further banking turmoil after the smaller lender had come to the brink of collapse. After a run on deposits, the Swiss government had turned to UBS, which agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion), while the Alpine state put up more than 200 billion francs of support and guarantees. Now, the bank is looking at how to navigate the mammoth task of integrating Credit Suisse, the success of which Switzerland depends on, without undermining its strengths. On Tuesday, Reuters also reported that the Bank of England had approved UBS' takeover of Credit Suisse in Britain, a key market for the Swiss lenders racing to close the rescue deal. UBS also secured a temporary green light from European Union antitrust regulators to complete its acquisition of Credit Suisse, but will still have to request clearance under EU merger rules, the European Commission said.

April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG Inc (TPG.O) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Elite, a vendor of business management software for law firms, from information provider Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) at a valuation of $500 million. Thomson Reuters will keep a minority stake and board representation in Elite and continue to support it with its legal information products, the companies said. Paul Fischer, president of Thomson Reuters' legal professionals division, said that Elite will continue to share many of Thomson Reuters' clients as a standalone company. Elite offers software that helps law firms run their finance and accounting operations, including billing, invoicing and payments. TPG partner Tim Millikin said that the data and automation that Elite offers are in demand among legal professionals.

☆ Exclusive: India's Bank of Baroda stops clearing payment for above-cap Russian oil - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Nidhi Verma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Bank of Baroda is extremely cautious in settling payments for Russian oil bought (at levels) above the price cap," one of the sources said. After Western sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, Indian refiners have been gorging on discounted Russian oil. Russia has replaced Iraq as the top oil supplier to India in the last few months, data from trade sources showed. It was not clear if Axis Bank had also stopped settling trades for Russian oil sold above the price cap. India does not recognise the Western price cap on Russian oil, a senior oil ministry source said last month.

☆ How facial recognition is helping Putin curb dissent
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

There officers told the 51-year-old bank employee that the metro’s facial recognition system had flagged him for detention because of his political activism. Facial recognition is now helping police to identify and sweep up the Kremlin’s opponents as a preventive measure, whenever they choose. The facial recognition system in Moscow is powered by algorithms produced by one Belarusian company and three Russian firms. All but one said they understood from officers that they were flagged for detention by facial recognition. Facial recognition technology uses artificial intelligence algorithms to analyse and identify faces.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated Donald Trump statement on paying legal fees for protesters during his arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A statement attributed to former U.S. President Donald Trump claiming he would pay the legal fees of protesters during his arrest is fabricated as satire. The statement says, “I WILL PAY THE LEGAL FEES FOR EVERYONE WHO PROTESTS FOR ME ON TUESDAY IN NEW YORK WHEN I AM ARRESTED. Reuters has previously addressed statements falsely attributed to Trump amid rumors of an imminent indictment or arrest (here) (here). The earliest iteration Reuters could find of the statement that Trump would pay protesters’ legal fees was shared via a satirical Twitter account on Mar. This statement was not published by former U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated Donald Trump statement threatening to leak ‘interesting videos’ of Kevin McCarthy shared online
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An image of what appears to be a statement published by former U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to leak “interesting videos” of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is fabricated. Examples of the fabricated statement screenshot shared online can be viewed (here) and (here). The earliest iteration Reuters could find of the statement was shared via a satirical Twitter account (here), archived (archive.is/E4zRY). Beneath “Save America” in the logo at the top of the page, “President Donald J. Trump” is replaced with “President Doofy J. Trump.”The screenshot is also dated March 18, 2022. No such statement was published by Donald Trump.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of Musk on reinstating Andrew Tate’s Twitter account is altered
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A clip purporting to show Twitter CEO Elon Musk talking about social media personality Andrew Tate’s reinstatement on Twitter has been altered from 2022 footage of Musk discussing a different topic. The clip circulating online seemingly shows Musk saying: “People ask me why I unblocked Andrew Tate from Twitter. Reuters also did not find any credible media reporting that Musk discussed Andrew Tate at the 2022 TED Talk (archive.is/wip/8I6Iw). A close comparison between frames of the altered clip online and this segment of the TED Talk can be seen (04s on altered clip compared to 13.08s on TED Talk ibb.co/3MrH71t) and (14s on altered clip compared to 13.15s: ibb.co/B3n7VKZ). The original video shows Musk discussing his intention to open-source the Twitter algorithm, not reinstating Andrew Tate’s Twitter account.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated TIME cover calling Donald Trump the ‘worst president ever’ resurfaces
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A TIME magazine cover with a photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump and the headline “Worst. “ is fabricated, a spokesperson for the publication told Reuters. A TIME spokesperson told Reuters via email the image of the cover is not authentic. It is not in the magazine’s online archive (time.com/vault/year/2016/), and a Google search for keywords provided no credible results (bit.ly/3ZHeLKI). TIME magazine did not publish a cover calling Trump the worst president ever.

☆ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent startup six-figure loan to make payroll after Silicon Valley Bank collapse, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is among tech execs giving money to startups after Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. Altman told Reuters startups need money to pay employees and bills while SVB's situation is addressed. SVB, a once-trusted bank for tech and startups, was taken over by regulators Friday. "Sam has been sending stuck startups money today with no docs, just saying 'send me back whatever you can whenever you can'. "Even if SVB can't find a buyer or a loan over the weekend, a lot of the money startups have on deposit will be made available to them," Altman told Reuters.

☆ Fact Check-CNN did not publish a report stating US Senator John Fetterman died
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CNN did not publish a news report on Democratic Senator for Pennsylvania John Fetterman dying on Feb. 23, 2023, but posts on social media shared a fabricated screenshot alleging the broadcaster published and retracted an obituary. The URL mentions the date of publishing as Feb. 23, 2023. A web archive for late Feb. 23 for CNN’s U.S. news home page shows no such article (here). CNN did not publish a report stating John Fetterman died on Feb. 23, 2023. (Updates paragraph 10 to include response from Fetterman’s office)This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

☆ U.S. regulators rejected Elon Musk’s bid to test brain chips in humans, citing safety risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Rachael Levy | Marisa Taylor | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

Companies that do secure human-testing approval typically conduct at least two rounds of trials before applying for FDA approval to commercially market a device. "Everybody in the industry was saying: 'Oh my God, they're going to run straight into a brick wall,'" Ludwig said of Musk's bid for FDA approval. For example, NeuroPace, which makes the brain implant to treat epilepsy, received final FDA approval in 2013 – 16 years after the company's launch. Beyond grants, it provides access to government experts who advise on how to gain FDA approval and commercialize a device. Musk's emails to Neuralink staffers often come from his SpaceX address, said two people who reviewed them.

☆ U.S. regulators rejected Elon Musk’s bid to test brain chips in humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Musk’s missed deadlines for FDA approval of Neuralink July 2019:Musk says Neuralink is aiming to receive regulatory approval for human trials of brain implants by the end of 2020. “Everybody in the industry was saying: ‘Oh my God, they’re going to run straight into a brick wall,’” Ludwig said of Musk’s bid for FDA approval. For example, NeuroPace, which makes the brain implant to treat epilepsy, received final FDA approval in 2013 – 16 years after the company’s launch. The FDA’s concerns about the battery are also potentially serious, experts in brain devices said. Still, that proposal disappointed Neuralink because it could delay progress toward final FDA approval, one of the sources said.

☆ EU bans TikTok on government phones as national security concerns grow from Western lawmakers. TikTok says it feels blindsided by the lack of 'due process.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Western lawmakers have expressed concerns over TikTok's cybersecurity threats in recent years. The EU joins other authorities to ban the app from staff phones over cybersecurity concerns. EU staff members will also have to remove TikTok from their personal devices if those devices access corporate services, Reuters also reported. Western lawmakers and cybersecurity experts have grown wary of the security threats TikTok may pose in recent years. More than half of US states have banned TikTok from government devices, Insider previously reported.

☆ UK business activity unexpectedly rebounds in February -flash PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Much better than anticipated PMI data for February indicate encouraging resilience of the economy," said S&P Global Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson. "While many companies continue to report tough operating conditions, especially in the manufacturing sector, the broader business mood has been buoyed by signs of inflation peaking, supply chains improving and recession risks easing." Williamson added that the survey data boosted the likelihood of a BoE rate hike next month, something which most economists polled by Reuters already expect. The PMI for the services sector rose to 53.3 in February from January's 48.7, the highest reading since June last year. Factory activity continued to contract but at a much reduced pace, with the manufacturing PMI increasing to 49.2 from 47.0, close to 50, the no-change mark.

☆ U.S. Congress members seek halt to $1 billion Nigeria weapons deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We write to express our concern with current U.S. policy on and military support to Nigeria," the lawmakers said. The United States has paired security assistance to Nigeria with training focused on compliance with international law. Nigerian military leaders denied the program has ever existed and said Reuters reporting was part of a foreign effort to undermine the country's fight against the insurgents. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters the army has never targeted children for killing. Amid international outcry, Nigeria’s defense ministry agreed to cooperate with an investigation by Nigeria’s Commission on Human Rights, which is underway.

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A global ransomware outbreak has scrambled servers belonging to Florida's Supreme Court and several universities in the United States and Central Europe, according to a Reuters analysis of ransom notes posted online to stricken servers. Florida Supreme Court spokesman Paul Flemming told Reuters that the affected infrastructure had been used to administer other elements of the Florida state court system, and that it was segregated from the Supreme Court's main network. "Florida Supreme Court's network and data are secure," he said, adding that the rest of the state court system's integrity also was not affected. Because internet-facing servers were affected, researchers and tracking services like Ransomwhere or Onyphe could easily follow the criminals' trail. Digital safety officials in Italy said on Monday that there was no evidence pointing to "aggression by a state or hostile state-like entity."

☆ Fact Check-Clips of people fainting at public events are unrelated to COVID-19 vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video compilation of people fainting includes clips that either predate or are unrelated to the COVID-19 vaccine. The footage, depictingAir Force Maj. Gen. James Martin Jr fainting, can be seen on CNN (here) and ABC 7News (here). It was taken in July 2020 and predates the COVID-19 vaccine rollout (here). All but two of the clips featured in this compilation predate the COVID-19 pandemic. The individuals portrayed in the two other videos, in April 2021 and July 2020, were not vaccinated at the time of filming.

☆ Fact Check-London Mayor Sadiq Khan is not banning dog walking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The mayor of London Sadiq Khan is not launching a pilot scheme that bans dog walking in the borough of Tower Hamlets. A spokesperson for Khan’s office told Reuters the assertion is “completely false”. According to the claim, seen initially on Twitter, Khan planned to ban people from walking their dogs through Tower Hamlets because the presence of dogs is “offensive to Muslims”. It added that dogs seen in the area after May 1 would be destroyed, and their owners would face a £798 fine (here). A spokesperson for the Mayor of London’s Office told Reuters in an email that the claim is “completely false”.

☆ Fact Check-Image of Polish weather map engulfing parts of Ukraine is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A still image from what initially appears to be a Polish weather broadcast has been shared widely online because the map used for Poland appears to engulf part of Ukraine. Here is a map of bit BIGGER POLAND , taken from Polish tv channel , this was on the weather forecast (…)” (here ). Reuters also noted spelling mistakes on the fabricated image, as several words are missing Polish characters. Furthermore, the style of the weather map and its graphics do not match the TVP1 format. The channel broadcasts weather forecasts from a virtual studio, as can be seen on their official YouTube channel (here ).

☆ A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

The resting places were adorned with simple wooden crosses and brightly coloured wreaths that bore the insignia of Russia’s Wagner Group - a feared and secretive private army. The news agency matched the names of at least 39 of the dead here and at three other nearby cemeteries to Russian court records, publicly available databases and social media accounts. He said gravediggers told him the bodies had come from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, close to Russia’s border with Donetsk region. According to Russian court documents, Kochas and another man burst into the apartment of an acquaintance while drunk in an attempted robbery. But he refused, so he’s a fool.”A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army By Felix Light and Filipp Lebedev in Tbilisi and Reade Levinson in London Photo editing: Simon Newman Graphics: Fielding Cage Art direction: Eve Watling Edited by Janet McBride

☆ Fact Check-Clip of military vehicle running over protesters filmed in Caracas, Venezuela in 2019
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

(Warning: This article contains graphic content)A clip of a military vehicle running over protesters was filmed in Caracas, Venezuela in April 2019 and not Peru amid protests in January 2023. The clip was shared by social media users online amid protests that kicked off in December following the ousting of Peru’s then president, Pedro Castillo. The social media users erroneously captioned it as an incident in Peru during the protests. Reuters also produced an article reporting that a Venezuela National Guard vehicle ran protesters over outside a military base in Venezuela’s capital on April 30, 2019 (here). Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here.

REUTERS/Nir EliasSINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Israel's Cognyte Software Ltd (CGNT.O) won a tender to sell intercept spyware to a Myanmar state-backed telecommunications firm a month before the Asian nation's February 2021 military coup, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. Intercept spyware can give authorities the power to listen in on calls, view text messages and web traffic including emails, and track the locations of users without the assistance of telecom and internet firms. MPT uses intercept spyware, a source with direct knowledge of the matter and three people briefed on the issue told Reuters although they did not identify the vendor. Reuters was unable to determine whether the sale of Cognyte intercept technology to MPT was finalised. While intercept spyware is typically described as "dual-use" technology for civilian and defence purposes, Israeli law states that "dual-use" technology is classified as defence equipment.

☆ Bed, Bath & Beyond rebounds in meme-stock rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) rebounded sharply in high volume trading on Monday amid speculation by retail investors that the struggling home goods seller might be a potential acquisition target. As of mid-day, traders had exchanged $114 million worth of the Bed, Bath & Beyond's shares, nearly matching the company's entire stock market value of $157 million, according to Refinitiv data. Bed Bath & Beyond has struggled for years with shrinking sales as it competes against Amazon (AMZN.O) and other rivals, with investors pointing to problems including cluttered stores and an over-reliance on discount coupons. In a filing last week, Bed Bath & Beyond said it expected to show a net loss of $385.8 million for its fiscal quarter ending in November, including $100 million of impairment charges. Of the 13 analysts covering the company, three recommend "hold," eight rate the stock "sell," and two have "strong sell" recommendations.

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