DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

[1/3] Jamie Dimon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters in Miami, Florida, U.S., February 8, 2023. Lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Virgin Islands is seeking damages from JPMorgan for missing red flags about Epstein's misconduct on Little St. James, a private island he owned there. Dimon and Staley, who later served as Barclays Plc's (BARC.L) chief executive, are not defendants in either lawsuit. The case is Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Higher provisions, legal charges dampen CIBC's quarterly profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) (CM.TO) reported a fall in its first-quarter profit on Friday, weighed down by higher provisions and legal charges to settle a lawsuit tied to the 2008 global financial crisis. CIBC set aside C$295 million ($217.17 million) in provisions for credit losses in the reported quarter, up C$220 million from a year-ago period. Last month, Bank of Canada said it would hold off on further moves to let the effects of past rate hikes sink in. CIBC kicked off the first-quarter earnings season for major Canadian banks on Friday. Rivals Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) will report on Tuesday while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) will post their earnings on Wednesday.

In a Thursday filing in Manhattan federal court, the U.S. Virgin Islands said JPMorgan's wrongful conduct continued at least until August 2019, when Epstein killed himself. The U.S. Virgin Islands called Dimon "a likely source of relevant and unique information" about decisions to retain Epstein as a client, and discussions on Epstein's referrals of prominent and wealthy potential clients. According to the filing, the business referral relationship continued after Epstein stopped being a client. The U.S. Virgin Islands is suing JPMorgan for unspecified damages, saying the bank should have known about its "high-risk" former client's misconduct on a private island he owned there. The case is Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ JPMorgan says it is not liable for top banker's ties to Jeffrey Epstein
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. After leaving JPMorgan, Staley became chief executive of Barclays Plc (BARC.L) but resigned in November 2021 amid a dispute with British financial regulators examining his ties to Epstein. Epstein's victims are also suing JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), where Epstein was a client from 2013 to 2018. The case is Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ LIV Golf finalizes all 12 team rosters for second season
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

February 21 - LIV Golf announced its 12 rosters of four-players teams for the upstart league's second season Monday night, making official the reported signings of Thomas Pieters, Danny Lee, Dean Burmester and Brendan Steele. 35 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of this week, joined Bubba Watson's team, RangeGoats. Players who finished in the top 24 of the 2022 Invitational Series were guaranteed spots for the 2023 LIV Golf League, according to a press release. "In less than a year, LIV Golf has reinvigorated the professional game and laid the foundation for the sport's future. In 2023, the LIV Golf League comes to life," LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said in a statement.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated Irish Centre for Diversity poster telling girls to ‘stay indoors after 6pm’ is shared online
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fabricated poster that purports to have been created by the Irish Centre for Diversity in coordination with the Irish government and tells girls to stay indoors after 6pm has been circulating online. A spokesperson for the Irish Centre for Diversity told Reuters that no such poster was published by the organisation. The Irish Centre for Diversity’s logo includes the ‘v’ in diversity replaced with a greater than sign. The Irish Centre for Diversity and Irish government said it published no such poster. No official Irish government logo can be seen printed on the poster, and ‘Irish government’ is misspelled in Irish.

☆ Wu becomes first Chinese man to win ATP title with Dallas triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Wu Yibing became the first man from China to win an ATP title on Sunday as he held off home hero John Isner 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 7-6(12) in a thrilling final to claim the Dallas Open. Before this week, no Chinese man had ever reached a tour-level final in the professional era or defeated a top 10 opponent. Wu, from the eastern city of Hangzhou, has done both, having upset American world number eight Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals in Dallas. Isner hammered 44 aces and held match point as Wu served to stay in the second set at 6-5. On Monday Wu became the second Chinese man to crack the world top 100 and is now projected to rise to 58.

☆ Box office haul for 'Avatar: The Way of Water' tops $2 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Director James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' in London, Britain December 6, 2022. "The Way of Water" debuted in late December, 13 years after the original "Avatar" introduced the lush world of Pandora and became a worldwide phenomenon. Box office sales for "The Way of Water" totaled $2.024 billion on Sunday, according to Disney estimates. Roughly $1.4 billion of ticket sales have come from international markets outside the United States and Canada. A third "Avatar" movie, which Cameron has already filmed, is scheduled to debut in December 2024.

☆ Six stocks Goldman Sachs likes ahead of earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Goldman Sachs' analysts have stocks they are confident about going into a new earnings season. The stocks we found are Amazon , ServiceNow , Colgate-Palmolive , Boeing , Microsoft and Cleveland-Cliffs . Colgate-Palmolive Analyst Jason English raised estimates ahead of Colgate-Palmolive's Jan. 27 earnings as headwinds from foreign exchange turn in to tailwinds. While English said the uncertain global environment could hurt Colgate's business, he still expects the toothpaste and soap maker to meet Goldman's 9% per-share earnings growth forecast for the year. Specifically, we are now forecasting AWS growth to decelerate to +21% YoY (vs. +27.5% YoY in Q3'22) with more subdued growth expectations in 2023.

REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File PhotoWINNIPEG, Manitoba, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Netherlands-based Rabobank NA (RABOVR.UL) is aiming to grab 10-15% of the Canadian farm lending market within 15 years, as it aims to shake up a sector dominated by government and domestic banks, its new Canadian agricultural head told Reuters on Wednesday. It took Rabobank a decade before deciding to expand into Canadian farm lending, taking a methodical approach, Lieverse said. Rabobank expects Canadian farm lending to be profitable from the start and plans to announce hiring plans shortly, she said. Rabobank did not release its estimate of the value of the Canadian farm lending market, but government agency Statistics Canada pegged 2021 farm debt at a record-high C$129 billion ($96.1 billion), with chartered banks accounting for 37%. Farm Credit Canada, owned by the Canadian government, is the biggest agricultural lender, controlling a market share of about one-third, Lieverse said.

Rogers-Shaw and Quebecor await approval from Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne to transfer Freedom Mobile Inc's spectrum license to Videotron. However, in its Thursday ruling, the tribunal said acquiring Freedom Mobile would allow Videotron to expand in new markets and ensure robust competition. The antitrust commissioner could still appeal after the tribunal details its decision over the next couple of days. The objection by the Competition Bureau was the main hurdle to overcome," Cormark Securities analyst David McFadgen said. He said there are "significant" revenue synergies for Rogers from bundling services, while Quebecor has better growth prospects from the Freedom Mobile deal.

☆ Hits Like ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Buoyed 2022 Movie Box Office, to a Point
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Total domestic box office grosses through Christmas show an increase of 68% from 2021, but are still off by roughly a third compared with 2019. The combined superpowers of the Batman, Doctor Strange, the Minions, Maverick and Na’vi warriors couldn’t save Hollywood from a lackluster 2022 box office. Once the new year arrives, the domestic box office total for 2022 will likely come in at around $7.35 billion, Comscore said. Total domestic box office grosses through Christmas of this year represent an increase of 68% over 2021, when many theaters remained closed and audiences were largely still apprehensive about returning to theaters for fear of Covid-19. But 2022 grosses are still off by roughly one-third compared with 2019, the last prepandemic year, when the total North American box office totaled $11 billion.

☆ Thai power price hike to hurt business, competitiveness - business group
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Thailand's decision to hike electricity prices by 20% in early 2023 will push up inflation and undermine the country's competitiveness as the economy recovers gradually from the pandemic, a leading joint business group said on Friday. The business group urged the government to delay the price hike as manufacturers would be forced to increase the price of goods, said the group, which includes representatives from industry, banking and commerce. Surong Bulakul, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said higher power prices could increase inflation to 3.5% next year, from 3% currently forecast, with interest rates on the rise. On Monday, the central bank said it would continue to raise rates for a while to help the economy and curb inflation. ($1 = 34.70 baht)Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mindy Kaling's 'Velma' series set to premiere in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

HBO Max has set a Jan. 12, 2023, release date for Mindy Kaling’s animated series “Velma,” a spinoff of the beloved, but family-friendly, “Scooby-Doo” series. In this modern, adult-oriented take on the classic “Scooby-Doo” franchise, the series follows the origin story of Velma Dinkley (Kaling), the brainiac of the Mystery Inc. gang. After a corpse is found in her high school, Velma teams up with Daphne (Constance Wu), Shaggy (Sam Richardson) and Fred (Glenn Howerton) to solve the murder. Kaling’s series also reimagines several members of the Mystery Inc. gang, including making Velma of South Asian descent. “We want to honor other interpretations and what we think feels really modern,” Kaling explained at NYCC.

☆ Wall Street analysts are more confident in Nike's outlook after strong earnings, improving inventory
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Wall Street analysts think Nike is moving in the right direction after the company reported strong earnings, as well as signs of improving inventory. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Straton raised her price target to $138, from $127, following the earnings beat. The new price target implies shares could jump more than 33% from Tuesday's closing price. Bank of America analyst Lorraine Hutchinson reiterated a neutral rating on the stock, but raised her price target to $120, up from $112. "Nike's strong revenue surprised to the upside but the company didn't move through as much inventory as we expected.

☆ 'Avatar' sequel opens shy of domestic box office projections
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Dec 18 (Reuters) - "Avatar: The Way of Water," the expensive and long-delayed sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, opened below box office forecasts with an estimated $134 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales. In overseas markets, "The Way of Water" added $301 million for a global total of roughly $435 million through Sunday, distributor Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said. "The Way of Water" was released 13 years after the first installment wowed audiences with pioneering 3D technology. The original "Avatar" remains the all-time box office champion with $2.9 billion in global ticket sales. Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

At 190 minutes, the running time of “Avatar: The Way of Water” is longer. Jake and Neytiri have had numerous children and adopted Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the daughter of a human scientist’s avatar body. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter of two different indigenous societies. But the human colonizers —preparing to strip-mine Pandora for its minerals and its biological resources (including space whale essence) — are the aliens. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter between two different indigenous societies.

☆ 'Avatar' sequel rings up $17 million in U.S. debut night
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Director James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' in London, Britain December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Director James Cameron's long-awaited "Avatar: The Way of Water" pulled in $17 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices from its first showings on Thursday night, distributor Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said. With international sales, the sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time has generated $50.4 million at theaters around the globe since the movie started rolling out on Wednesday. The sequel should end the opening weekend with at least $140 million from domestic theaters, forecasters said. "The Way of Water" was released 13 years after the first film wowed audiences with pioneering 3D technology.

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' review roundup: See it on the biggest screen possible, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"The Way of Water" follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who are now the parents of four Na'vi children. Read more: "Avatar: The Way of Water" could be headed for a $175 million opening weekend Critics are adamant that audiences should watch "The Way of Water" on the biggest screen possible, lauding the film for its you-won't-believe-this-is-computer-generated visuals and bombastic sound design. Here's what critics thought of "Avatar: The Way of Water" before its Friday release. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy: Disney Co.Ma did note that "The Way of Water" is "jaw-droppingly beautiful," likening it to watching a David Attenborough documentary rather than a CGI feature. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy Disney Co.Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

☆ Irish soldier killed on U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - An Irish soldier was killed on a U.N. peackeeping mission in Lebanon late on Wednesday when a convoy of two armoured utility vehicles travelling to Beirut came under small arms fire, Ireland's defence forces said in a statement. Another Irish member of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is in a serious condition having undergone surgery following the incident, the statement said. "It is with deep regret that Óglaigh na hÉireann (the Irish defence forces) can confirm the death of one of our peacekeepers in a serious incident in Lebanon last night," the defence forces said, adding that a full investigation will commence. Irish Defence Minister Simon Coveney, who is in New York for a U.N. Security Council meeting, said he will meet U.N. Secretary General António Guterres later on Thursday to discuss the incident. "As a people, we take great pride in our unbroken record of peacekeeping with the United Nations.

☆ ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ rekindles the wonder in a way that demands to be seen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —“Avatar” took a very basic story and adorned it with eye-popping spectacle, in a way that made the film a must-see commodity, and a record-breaking hit in the process. Thirteen years later, braving much different theatrical tides, director James Cameron has done it again with “Avatar: The Way of Water,” a state-of-the-art exercise that rekindles that sense of wonder and demands to be seen by anyone with lingering interest in watching movies in theaters. The children, in particular, must grapple with the personalities and pettiness associated with becoming the new kids on the reef. Ultimately, though, “The Way of Water” melts away any skepticism that it might be too late or too long in its return to Pandora. “Avatar: The Way of Water” premieres December 16 in US theaters.

☆ 'Avatar' sequel earns film critics' praise for visual spectacle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Fans attend a premiere for the film Avatar: The Way of Water, at Dolby theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniLOS ANGELES, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The long-awaited sequel to groundbreaking movie "Avatar" won praise on Tuesday from movie critics who said they were awed again by director James Cameron's visual artistry. The sequel offers more advanced 3D images, showcasing aquatic creatures on the lush moon of Pandora. "'Avatar: The Way of Water' is such a screen-popping visual feast it earns the 3-hour, 12-minute running time," said Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times. Studios split ticket sales with theaters, and Cameron told GQ magazine that "The Way of Water" will need to make $2 billion just to break even.

[1/4] Director James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' in London, Britain December 6, 2022. Hollywood's big question about "Avatar: The Way of Water" is whether the follow-up to the highest-grossing movie of all time can attract enough moviegoers to recoup its massive production and marketing costs. The 2009 movie remains the highest-grossing film in history with $2.9 billion in global ticket sales. Some disliked wearing 3D glasses, or objected to paying the 3D ticket surcharge. On opening weekend, Robbins predicts "The Way of Water" will rack up at least $150 million at domestic theaters.

For decades, searching for such hard-to-reach plants and collecting samples was carried out by intrepid botanists who rappelled by rope down dangerous cliffs to hunt for what was lost. Now, we may have a little more time before extinction.”DIRE SITUATIONToday, two in five plant species globally are threatened with extinction. Kauai has 250 plant species that can be found only on the island. To protect species in the long run, botanists need to collect samples — seeds and genetic material — which they can cultivate in greenhouse nurseries. They might even use drones to bomb down collected seeds, packing them into sticky fertilizer balls that can adhere to steep cliffs.

Dec 8 (Reuters) - In a monastery in central Myanmar, a Buddhist monk, Wathawa, rallies his militia with a cry: "What's our spirit like?" shout a group of rifle-bearing men, loyalists of the military junta that seized power last year, now fighting to crush fledgling pro-democracy groups. Myanmar's Buddhist clergy previously sought to topple successive military dictatorships that kept citizens impoverished and isolated. Myanmar monks teach laypeople who in turn provide them with essentials such as food and clothing. State media broadcasts have shown military commanders showering Wathawa and his militia with cash and food donations.

Search resuls for: "Na"

25 mentions found