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☆ Meta to delay closing Within Unlimited deal by one month
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O) does not expect to seal its acquisition deal with Within Unlimited, maker of the popular fitness app "Supernatural", before Jan. 31, according to a court filing from Tuesday. In August, Meta had agreed not to close the deal until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31. Meta already has the best-selling VR headset, the Quest 2, and controls a Meta Quest Store with hundreds of apps. Within Unlimited, founded in 2014, creates original content for virtual reality. It describes itself as "the premier destination for cinematic virtual reality."

☆ Six dead, including suspect, after shooting in Canada's Vaughan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Five victims and one suspect are dead following a shooting at a condominium in Canada's Vaughan city, just north of Toronto, the York Regional Police department said. Another victim is hospitalized in a serious condition, police said in a statement early on Monday. The suspect was shot after an interaction with police and pronounced deceased at the scene, according to the police. An investigation is active and ongoing, the police said in the statement, adding that there is no further threat to public safety. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's Sunak to attend Baltic summit, meet UK troops in Estonia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 19 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will meet his Nordic, Baltic and Dutch counterparts at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in the Latvian capital Riga on Monday, before heading to Estonia to meet British and NATO troops, the government said. The JEF, a British-led group of Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, will be addressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. At the summit, Sunak will call on leaders to sustain or increase lethal aid, economic resilience and political backing to Ukraine in its resistance against Russia's invasion, according to a British government statement. After the JEF summit, Sunak is expected to meet Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, before heading to Estonia to meet UK and NATO troops serving on the military alliance's eastern flank on the Russian border. Sunak will sign a technology partnership agreement with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, to bolster technology ties and support new digital infrastructure, the statement said.

☆ India's e-bus ambition hits financing speed bump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Sarita Chaganti Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mahesh Babu, chief executive of e-bus maker Switch Mobility, said that "most of the contracts related to STUs are seen by banks as high risk" and called for payment security for bus makers. Financing diesel buses is safer because in the case of any default, banks can repossess the asset and easily redeploy it. A Tata Motors spokesperson said there was a need for "adequate safeguards with appropriate payment security mechanisms" to make such ventures bankable. A federal government official, on the condition of anonymity, said they would consider the demands of the industry. The Ministry of Heavy Industries, which is promoting the use of e-buses, did not immediately respond to a email seeking comment.

☆ TC Energy says has not found cause of Keystone oil pipeline leak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Canada's TC Energy (TRP.TO) said on Sunday it has not yet determined the cause of the Keystone oil pipeline leak last week in the United States, while also not giving a timeline as to when the pipeline will resume operation. TC shut the pipeline after more than 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas on Wednesday, making it one of the largest U.S. crude spills in nearly a decade. Crews are also preparing for rain forecast to begin on Monday, TC said. The 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone line is a critical artery shipping heavy Canadian crude from Alberta to refiners in the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast. Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Google to merge mapping service Waze with maps products teams
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Google said on Thursday it will merge teams working on mapping service Waze and products like Google Maps, effective Dec. 9, in a bid to consolidate processes. The Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O)-owned company will integrate Waze, which it acquired in 2013 for $1 billion, into Google Geo, its portfolio of real-world mapping products that include Google Maps, Google Earth, and Street View, a Google spokesperson said. Waze CEO Neha Parikh will exit the company following a transition period, Google said, adding that Waze will continue to be a standalone app, with about 151 million monthly active users worldwide. "By bringing the Waze team into Geo's portfolio of real-world mapping products, the teams will benefit from further increased technical collaboration," the spokesperson said. In a letter dated July 12, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company would streamline processes and consolidate investments where they overlap.

☆ Musk taps Tesla's China chief to run Texas gigafactory - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) chief Elon Musk has roped in longtime executive and the company's president in China, Tom Zhu, to help run the carmaker's new plant in Austin, Texas, Bloomberg News reported late on Wednesday. Zhu, who joined Tesla in 2014 and is heading Tesla's Asia Pacific operations, is in Austin this week. He has brought some of his engineering team from China with him to assist in overseeing the ramp-up of Giga Texas, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Giga Texas, which opened earlier this year, makes the Model Y and will produce Tesla's upcoming Cybertruck. It is not clear whether Zhu will retain his Asia responsibilities or for how long he will be in Austin, Bloomberg added.

Dec 6 (Reuters) - E-cigarette maker Juul Labs on Tuesday said it has reached settlements with about 10,000 plaintiffs covering more than 5,000 cases in California. Juul did not disclose the settlement amount as part of the settlement and court process in the federal multidistrict litigation and related JUUL Labs Product Cases. The company has obtained equity investment to fund it, a spokeperson told Reuters in a statement. But following an appeal, the health regulator put the ban on hold and agreed to an additional review of Juul's marketing application. Reporting by Juby Babu and Chris Kirkham; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amazon to restart advertising on Twitter - Platfomer reporter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is planning to restart advertising on Twitter at about $100 million per year, pending some security tweaks to the social media company's ads platform, according to a Platformer reporter tweet on Saturday. Twitter CEO Elon Musk also said Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has resumed advertising on the platform, according to a Bloomberg report, citing comments made during a Twitter Spaces conversation on Saturday. Amazon, Apple and Twitter did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on the matter. Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple and Amazon resume advertising on Twitter, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) are planning to resume advertising on Twitter, according to media reports on Saturday. Twitter billed the offer as the "biggest advertiser incentive ever on Twitter," according to the email reviewed by Reuters. On Saturday, a Platformer News reporter tweeted that Amazon is planning to resume advertising on Twitter at about $100 million a year, pending some security tweaks to the company's ads platform. However, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Amazon had never stopped advertising on Twitter. Separately, during a Twitter Spaces conversation, Musk announced that Apple is the largest advertiser on Twitter and has "fully resumed" advertising on the platform, according to a Bloomberg report.

"We have denied permission to the rally by the Hindu United Front. The port is of strategic importance to both India and billionaire Gautam Adani, Asia's wealthiest man and the world's third-richest. Critics say Adani, who comes from the same state as Modi, has benefited from the policies of the federal government. Earlier, Hindu United Front member C Babu told Reuters they would go ahead with the rally. The Adani Group has said in court filings that the protests have caused "immense loss" and "considerable delay".

☆ Twitter CEO Musk says user signups at all-time high, touts features of "everything app"
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk has said that new user signups to the social media platform are at an "all-time high", as he struggles with a mass exodus of advertisers and users fleeing to other platforms over concerns about verification andhate speech. Signups were averaging over two million per day in the last seven days as of Nov. 16, up 66% compared to the same week in 2021, Musk said in a tweet late on Saturday. Reported impersonations on the platform spiked earlier this month, before and in wake of the Twitter Blue launch, according to Musk. Advertisers on Twitter, including big companies such as General Motors, Mondelez International, Volkswagen AG, have paused advertising on the platform, as they grapple with the new boss. read moreHundreds of Twitter employees are believed to have quit the beleaguered company, following an ultimatum by Musk that staffers sign up for "long hours at high intensity," or leave.

The gunman, identified as Andre Bing, 31, of Chesapeake, Virginia, said nothing as he began firing on workers gathered late on Tuesday ahead of their overnight shift, according to two employees who were in the break room. Another Walmart employee, Briana Tyler, told ABC's "Good Morning America": "I looked up and my manager just opened the door and he just opened fire." [1/6] FBI agents stand in the parking lot after a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. November 23, 2022. He told her that during the nightly meeting his manager was acting "strange" and "then started shooting," she told the news station. This was not the first mass shooting at a Walmart, which has thousands of stores across the country.

NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - FTX has a total cash balance of $1.24 billion, a court filing by advisers on the stricken crypto exchange's restructuring showed ahead of U.S. bankruptcy hearings set for later on Tuesday. Its cash balance as of Sunday was "substantially higher" than previously thought, Monday's filing by Edgar Mosley of Alvarez & Marshal, a consultancy firm advising FTX, said. The details of FTX's cash balances came ahead of a hearing in Delaware on FTX's so-called first-day motions. FTX, led since the bankruptcy filing by new CEO John Ray, has accused Bankman-Fried of working with Bahamian regulators to "undermine" the U.S. bankruptcy case and shift assets overseas. Since the implosion of FTX, some crypto players are taking to decentralized exchanges known as "DEXs" where investors trade peer-to-peer on the blockchain.

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has filed for U.S. bankruptcy court protection, had a total cash balance of $1.24 billion as of Nov. 20, according to a court filing on Monday. FTX will see a drop in its cash flow by $20 million to $459 million by Dec. 23, from $479 million as of Nov. 25, the filing said. In an earlier court filing, FTX had said that it owes its 50 biggest creditors nearly $3.1 billion. read moreReporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Collapsed FTX owes nearly $3.1 bln to top 50 creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 20 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has filed for U.S. bankruptcy court protection, said it owes its 50 biggest creditors nearly $3.1 billion. The exchange owes about $1.45 billion to its top ten creditors, it said in a court filing on Saturday, without naming them. FTX and its affiliates filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on Nov. 11 in one of the highest-profile crypto blowups, leaving an estimated 1 million customers and other investors facing total losses in the billions of dollars. read moreThe crypto exchange said on Saturday it has launched a strategic review of its global assets and is preparing for the sale or reorganization of some businesses. read moreReporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. stops taking student debt relief applications after Trump judge ruling
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - The United States government has stopped taking applications for student debt relief, after a federal judge blocked President Joe Biden's loan forgiveness plan, according to a notice on a government website. A judge in Texas who was appointed by former President Donald Trump ruled on Thursday that Biden's plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful and must be vacated. "Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program. As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. Editing by Heather Timmons and Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian court sends Pernod Ricard exec, Aurobindo director to agency custody
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The court's decision came hours after P. Sarath Chandra Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma and Pernod Ricard's Benoy Babu were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the country's federal financial crime-fighting agency. The ED last month raided several liquor companies, suppliers and distributors in a money-laundering investigation, according to media reports. Babu is a general manager at Pernod Ricard and handles the French company's international brands business in India, according to his LinkedIn profile. Spokespersons for Pernod Ricard and Aurobindo did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Shares in Aurobindo, which makes a range of medicines from antibacterials to antidepressants, fell by 11.75% by close of day.

☆ India's Paytm posts rise in quarterly revenue on surge in loan growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Indian digital payments firm Paytm (PAYT.NS) reported a 76% jump in second-quarter revenue, driven by a surge in loan growth. Paytm's parent, One 97 Communications Ltd, said revenue rose to 19.14 billion Indian rupees ($233.81 million) in the July-September quarter, from 10.86 billion rupees a year earlier. Consolidated net loss widened to 5.71 billion Indian rupees from a loss of 4.73 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said in an exchange filing. ($1 = 81.8600 Indian rupees)Reporting by Anuran Sadhu and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK PM Sunak says state cannot fix all problems -The Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said people cannot expect the state to "fix everyone's problems" as he looks to regain public trust by being honest about the extent of the economic difficulties ahead. In an interview with The Times, Sunak said he recognised people's anxiety about soaring mortgage repayments and said he would do "absolutely everything" he could to "grip this problem". "It's right we're honest about the trade-offs we face — everyone now talks about borrowing, everyone appreciates that the government cannot do everything," Sunak told the newspaper. Sunak became Britain's first prime minister of colour last month, taking over during one of the most turbulent eras in British political history. ($1 = 0.8791 pounds)Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK to reveal stealth tax raid on pensions later this month-The Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and finance minister Jeremy Hunt plan to reveal a stealth tax raid on pensions later this month, The Telegraph reported on Friday. The allowance level has risen with prices in the past, but Sunak, as the finance minister last year, froze the allowance until 2025. The move was forecast to bring the Treasury close to a billion pounds over the period, Telegraph said. They do not want to break the 2019 Tory election manifesto promises or raise the rates of major taxes, the Telegraph said, citing Treasury sources. They are also determined to make sure the well-off carry more of the burden for the tax rises than the poorest.

☆ UK considers cutting tax-free dividend allowance, increasing capital gains tax -media
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Britain's government is considering cutting the tax-free allowance for dividend income, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, before a Nov. 17 budget. Hunt is also looking at increasing the headline rate of capital gains tax (CGT), The Telegraph reported later on Thursday. The finance minister is reviewing changes to the headline rate, reliefs and allowances on CGT while also considering hitting savers with an increase in dividend taxes, the newspaper said. There will be no extension of the stamp duty cut adopted by former Prime Minister Liz Truss, Telegraph said, citing a Whitehall source. read morePrime Minister Rishi Sunak, in power for just over a week, and finance minister Hunt are trying to find ways to cut spending and increase revenue to plug a budget hole worsened by Truss's debt-fuelled economic plans.

☆ Washington state sues to block Albertsons' $4 bln payout to shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block grocery chain Albertsons Cos Inc (ACI.N) from paying dividends to shareholders before closure of its proposed merger with supermarket operator Kroger Co (KR.N). The $4 billion payout to shareholders "risks severely undercutting the grocery giant's ability to compete during the lengthy time period government regulators — including Washington — will be scrutinizing the merger," according to a statement posted to the Washington Attorney General's website. "Paying out $4 billion before regulators can do their job and review the proposed merger will weaken Albertsons' ability to continue business operations and compete," Ferguson said. Kroger and Albertsons did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the AG's lawsuit. Late in October, District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine said that half-a-dozen state attorneys general are digging into Kroger planned acquisition of Albertsons.

☆ UK to extend windfall taxes on energy firms - The Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and finance minister Jeremy Hunt are planning to extend windfall taxes on oil and gas companies to raise nearly 40 billion pounds ($45.55 billion) over the five years, The Times reported on Wednesday. Sunak and Hunt want to maximise revenues from the windfall tax, by increasing the rate from 25% to 30% and extending it until 2028, the newspaper said, adding the scheme will be expanded to cover electricity generators. In May, Sunak under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, introduced the 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers' profits, which helped to fund a package of support for households. The decision back then was met with critiques from oil and gas companies that it would shrink investment and domestic production. The president of the COP26 climate summit Alok Sharma said earlier this week that Sunak's government should explore extending a windfall tax on oil and gas firms.

☆ Judge asks Rogers, Shaw and competition bureau to convene for talks on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Canada Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton has directed counsel for Rogers Communication Inc (RCIb.TO), Shaw Communications Inc (SJRb.TO) and the Competition Bureau to convene for a further case management conference on Tuesday. Chief Justice Crampton, who is presiding over an antitrust case against Rogers' takeover of Shaw, also asked all the parties to "reflect" about the deal, according to a notice posted on the Competition Tribunals's website. The mediation between Rogers and Shaw and Canada's competition bureau over the companies' C$20 billion ($14.69 billion) merger failed on Thursday, as the parties did not agree on the terms put forward by the tribunal. read moreRogers declined to comment when Reuters reached out to the company about the ruling, while Shaw and the Competition Bureau did not respond to requests for comment. read more($1 = 1.3612 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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