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BRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Edwards Lifesciences (EW.N) was raided by EU antitrust regulators at one of its facilities in an EU country a week ago, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Edwards Lifesciences' shares dipped after the Reuters story, falling 2.5% in pre-market trade. Edwards Lifesciences, which says it is a global leader in making medical products for structural heart disease, did not respond to repeated emailed requests for comment. Companies found guilty of violating EU antitrust rules face fines as much as 10% of their global turnover. According to analysts, Edwards Lifesciences competes with Abbot Laboratories (ABT.N), Medtronic (MDT.N), Zimmer Biomet (ZBH.N) and Boston Scientific Corp (BSX.N), among others.

Persons: Edwards, Edwards Lifesciences, Zimmer Biomet, Foo Yun Chee, Kirsten Donovan, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, European, EU, Abbot Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corp, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, EU

☆ Nissan says all new models coming to Europe will be fully electric
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) said on Monday that as of now all new models it launches in Europe will be fully electric and it plans to sell only electric vehicles on the continent by 2030. The Japanese carmaker said that one of two new EV models it has already confirmed for Europe will be manufactured at its Sunderland plant in northern England. Earlier this year, Nissan raised its targets for EV models as it plays catch up in a segment dominated by newcomers like Tesla (TSLA.O) - saying it would launch 19 new EV models by 2030. The new goal of going fully electric in Europe by 2030 brings Nissan in line with alliance partner Renault (RENA.PA), which plans to make the Renault brand all electric by then. Ford and Stellantis also plan to be fully electric in Europe by 2030.

Persons: Issei Kato, Makoto Uchida, Ford, Stellantis, Nick Carey, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Nissan Motor Corp, Nissan, REUTERS, Sunderland, Renault, Volvo, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Tokyo, Japan, Europe, England

☆ India's monsoon starts delayed retreat
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The monsoon, the lifeblood of India's $3 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain needed to water its farms and recharge reservoirs and aquifers. The monsoon generally begins in June and starts to retreat by Sept. 17 but rains continued this year, helping to reduce a precipitation deficit after the driest August in more than a century hit some summer crops. Monsoon rains were 9% below average in June before rebounding to 13% above average in July. The weather office then registered 36% below average rains last month. Monsoon rains so far in September are 17% above average, according to IMD.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Rajendra Jadhav, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, India Meteorological Department, IMD, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Rights MUMBAI, Rajasthan

☆ Larger Italian banks still seen paying one-off tax despite opt-out offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The government sparked a market rout last month with the surprise announcement of a 40% tax on the profits banks are reaping from rising interest rates. The option would benefit banks that hold a higher proportion of Italian government bonds among their assets relative to loans. Banca Akros and broker Equita also expect most banks to pay the tax. Equita also said paying the levy would allow lenders to maintain more flexibility over their remuneration policy. Switching the tax basis to risk-weighted assets helps banks which have a lower 'risk density', meaning the average risk weight per unit of exposure.

Persons: Jennifer Lorenzini, Equita, Akros, Siena, Valentina Za, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Generale, Banca Akros, ICCREA, Bank, Banca Generali, Thomson Locations: Monte dei, Siena, Italy, Italy's

☆ Commerzbank shares fall after report on strategy review
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsFRANKFURT, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) were down 3.4% late on Friday after a German newspaper reported details of the lender's new strategy plans to be announced in November. Shares of the bank were down by only around 0.4% before publication of the report. It plans to announce its strategy review on Nov. 8. Like many banks, Commerzbank has been benefiting from a rise in interest rates and the income that generates. Reuters GraphicsThe bank's chief executive Manfred Knof said this week that the main focus of the new strategy would be growth in its customer business.

Persons: DAX, Kai Pfaffenbach, Commerzbank, Manfred Knof, Bettina Orlopp, Tom Sims, Rachel More, Friederike Heine, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Commerzbank

☆ Arm and Instacart add to losses after lukewarm analyst reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Noel Randewich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Arm surged on its first day on Wall Street and has fallen every day since then. That followed a Bernstein "underperform" rating with a $46 price target earlier this week, and a "hold" assigned to Arm by Needham and Company on Sept. 16. Neutral and negative stock ratings are much less common on Wall Street than "buy" recommendations or other positive ratings. Still, the marketing automation firm's stock remains above the $30 IPO price. The declines in Arm, Instacart and Klaviyo on Friday were in contrast to a 0.3% gain in the Nasdaq (.IXIC).

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jake Fuller, Instacart, Bernstein, Klaviyo, Noel Randewich, Lance Tupper, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Arm Holdings, Uber Technologies, Susquehanna, Needham, Company, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Klaviyo

The Citadel Securities logo is seen at their offices in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Acquire Licensing RightsSept 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday said Citadel Securities LLC, a Miami-based broker-dealer, had agreed to pay $7 million to settle charges it incorrectly handled millions of orders and violated short-selling rules. The SEC in a statement said Citadel Securities over a five-year period had incorrectly marked millions of orders, denoting short sales as long sales and vice versa. It said those incorrect markings resulted from a coding error in the firm's automated trading system. A Citadel spokesperson said the error was identified and addressed by the firm more than three years ago.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Mark Cave, Rami Ayyub, Pete Schroeder, Carolina, Kirsten Donovan, Mark Porter Organizations: Citadel Securities, REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Citadel Securities LLC, SEC, Citadel, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Miami

The VanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETF fell 4.8% on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve stiffened its hawkish monetary policy stance, slamming the real estate sector and the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) that invest in them. Real estate stocks have struggled this year as the Fed's rapid rate hikes make financing properties more expensive, curbing demand. ETFs tracking broader REITs such as Schwab US REIT and Vanguard Real Estate Index have fallen 4.4% and 5%, respectively, so far this week, while the S&P 500 real estate index (.5SP60) is on track to post weekly losses of 4.7%. "For the discerning investor, the current situation might just be the contrarian opportunity they've been waiting for," said VanEck in its blog about the ETF. Office REITs like Boston Properties (BXP.N) and Kilroy Realty (KRC.N) are down 10% and 15%, respectively, so far this year.

Persons: Schwab, they've, they're, Aniket, Bansari Mayur, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Real, Investment, Schwab US, Vanguard, Boston, Kilroy Realty, CFRA, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. KEY QUOTE:Weinberg testified that he had pressed particular companies - he did not name them - to use DuckDuckGo as the default and found some interest but ultimately no success because of Google's contracts with the companies. "We ultimately decided, this was after three years of trying this, that this was a quixotic exercise because of the contracts." *The clout in search then makes Google a heavy hitter in the lucrative advertising market, boosting its profits. *DuckDuckGo has around 2.5% of the online search engine market because it has not been able to win a default position on devices made by big companies.

Persons: Paresh Dave, DuckDuckGo, Gabriel Weinberg, Weinberg, Diane Bartz, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Google, Apple, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, Washington

☆ Portugal approves 30% cut in mortgage rates for struggling borrowers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Portugal's government said on Thursday that banks must discount the benchmark six-month Euribor rate by 30% when calculating mortgage interest rates if asked to do so by borrowers struggling to deal with rising interest rates and avoid default. Around 90% of Portugal's stock of 1.4 million mortgages have variable rates indexed to euro interbank offered rates (Euribor) , one of the highest levels in the euro zone. But interbank rates have soared as the European Central Bank hiked interest rates from record lows. "As a result of this measure, the implied interest rate on mortgages cannot exceed 70% of the six-month Euribor rate in the next two years," Finance Minister Fernando Medina told a news briefing. Those with mortgages indexed to three- and 12-month Euribor rates will also receive a discount equal to the nominal amount resulting from the cut in the six-month rate, he added.

Persons: Fernando Medina, Banks, Medina, Mario Centeno, Association of Portuguese Banks APB, Sergio Goncalves, Andrei Khalip, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: European Central Bank, Finance, Bank of Portugal, Association of Portuguese, Thomson Locations: LISBON

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM, Sept 21 (Reuters) - European Union lawmaker Brando Benifei, who is leading negotiations on artificial intelligence rules, on Thursday urged EU countries to compromise in key areas in order to reach agreement with the bloc's executive by the end of the year. The thorniest issues are biometric surveillance and copyrighted material used by ChatGPT and other generative AI. Lawmakers want a ban on AI use in biometric surveillance but EU countries led by France want exceptions for national security, defence and military purposes. Lawmakers also want AI legislation to cover copyrighted material used by companies like OpenAI, backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), while EU countries say the bloc's current copyright rules offer sufficient protection. Copyright should be dealt with in the copyright law," she told Reuters, chiming with EU countries on the second matter.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Brando Benifei, Benifei, Alexandra van Huffelen, Svenja Hahn, Guillaume Couneson, Linklaters, Foo Yun Chee, Martin Coulter, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Union, European Commission, Microsoft Corp, Reuters, UN, Assembly, Global Tech Sector, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, STOCKHOLM, France, Europe, New York, Spain, London

[1/2] The Tesla Energy Powerwall Home Battery is unveiled by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk during an event in Hawthorne, California April 30, 2015. Although Tesla sought a number of incentives to set up a battery storage factory, Indian officials conveyed these would not be available, one of the sources said. It is largely dependent on coal-based power generation as storage technologies are expensive and not yet widespread. With incentives, Powerwall costs more than $5,500 in California, with additional costs for solar panels. It is eligible for U.S. federal tax credits and local state and utility incentives for solar and energy storage.

Persons: Elon Musk, India's Modi, Tesla, Narendra Modi, company's, Musk, Modi, Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Sudarshan, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Tesla Energy, Tesla Motors, Elon, Thomson Locations: Hawthorne , California, India, DELHI, New Delhi, Tesla's California, California, Houston, Dallas, Texas

☆ Delivery Hero confirms talks on partial sale of Asian business
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Andreas Harte, a Foodora delivery cyclist poses in front of Delivery Hero headquarters in Berlin, Germany, June 2, 2017. Foodora is part of the Berlin-based company Delivery Hero, one of Europe's largest internet start-ups. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Delivery Hero (DHER.DE) confirmed talks on a partial sale of its Asia business on Wednesday, adding that the deal's value is still under negotiation. Delivery Hero has been focusing on reaching profitability while maintaining growth as investor confidence in the company started to wane after a pandemic-driven boost. Grab makes most of its sales from its food delivery business and has recently seen strong growth in its ride-share business.

Persons: Andreas Harte, Foodora, Fabrizio Bensch, Niklas Oestberg, Rachel More, Andrey Sychev, Matthias Williams, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Asia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand

Ford UK Chair Lisa Brankin was scathing: "Our business needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency. Britain was the first major economy to create a legally binding 2050 net zero target and emissions have fallen almost 50% since 1990 as coal power plants closed and offshore wind power took off. The government's own independent adviser on climate action said in June that Britain was not doing enough to hit its mid-century target. Ford said it had spent 430 million pounds ($532 million) on its UK development and manufacturing facilities, with "further funding planned for the 2030 timeframe". His party has trailed the opposition Labour Party in polls for over a year.

Persons: Suella Braverman, Andy Bailey, Handout, Rishi Sunak, Lisa Brankin, Sunak, We're, Ford, Chris Skidmore, Kate Holton, Elizabeth Piper, William James, Susanna Twidale, Muvija, Nick Carey, Sachin Ravikumar, Gareth Jones, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Economic, REUTERS, Sunak's Conservative Party, Ford, Conservative, BET, Times Radio, European Union, BMW, Volkswagen, Labour Party, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Sunak

Pump jacks operate at sunset in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. Earlier, it hit a session peak of $95.96 a barrel, their highest since November. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 28 cents to $91.20 after earlier reaching $93.74 a barrel, also the highest since November. After Brent topped $95 a barrel on Tuesday, investment bank UBS said in a note it started taking profits. Industry data on Tuesday showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell last week by about 5.25 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

Persons: Nick Oxford, Brent, Analysts, Amin Nasser, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Stephanie Kelly, Andrew Hayley, Paul Carsten, Kirsten Donovan, Jason Neely, David Goodman, David Gregorio, Jan Harvey Organizations: Midland , Texas U.S, REUTERS, Brent, . West Texas, UBS, Reuters, U.S . Energy, Administration, American Petroleum Institute, Nasdaq, U.S, Thomson Locations: Midland , Texas, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Saudi Aramco, Saudi, OPEC, Britain, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, U.S . Federal, New York, Beijing

☆ Governments race to regulate AI tools
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

ITALY* Investigating possible breachesItaly's data protection authority plans to review artificial intelligence platforms and hire AI experts, a top official said in May. ChatGPT became available to users in Italy in April after being temporarily banned over concerns by the national data protection authority in March. The country's privacy watchdog said in June it had warned OpenAI not to collect sensitive data without people's permission. SPAIN* Investigating possible breachesSpain's data protection agency said in April it was launching a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT. It has also asked the EU's privacy watchdog to evaluate privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ursula von der Leyen, CNIL, Ziv Katzir, Israel, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Lawmakers, Joe Biden's, Beryl Howell, Alessandro Parodi, Amir Orusov, Kirsten Donovan, Mark Potter, Christina Fincher, Milla Nissi Organizations: REUTERS, Baidu, Microsoft, Markets Authority, Big Tech, Britain, HK, SenseTime, Israel Innovation Authority, EU, UNITED, . Security, International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations, U.S, IBM, Nvidia, Washington D.C, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Thomson Locations: AUSTRALIA, Australia, BRITAIN, CHINA, China, FRANCE, Italy, Hiroshima, Japan, IRELAND, ISRAEL, Israel, ITALY, JAPAN, U.S, SPAIN, New York, Washington, Gdansk

☆ Cargo vessel leaves Ukraine's Chornomorsk after loading grain - Deputy PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Palau-flagged general cargo vessel Resilient Africa loaded with grain, leaves the sea port of Chornomorsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Odesa, Ukraine September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A cargo vessel carrying grain has left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk for the first time since a grain deal collapsed, a top government official said on Tuesday, in a test of Ukraine's ability to unblock its seaports for grain export. "The vessel RESILIENT AFRICA, carrying 3,000 tons of wheat, has left the port of Chornomorsk and is heading towards the Bosphorus," Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook. Kubrakov said the second ship, Aroyat, is still moored in Chornomorsk and is being loaded with wheat for Egypt. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in July 2022 to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Stringer, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Kubrakov, Aroyat, Pavel Polityuk, Anna Pruchnicka, Christopher Cushing, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Facebook, Chornomorsk, Ukrainian Navy, Thomson Locations: Palau, Africa, Chornomorsk, Ukraine, Odesa, Ukrainian, AFRICA, Russia, Asia, Egypt, Moscow, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey

☆ Indian e-scooter maker Ather readies new models and exports after subsidy cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ather electric scooters are seen outside the showroom in Mumbai, India, January 28, 2022. India's electric scooter market is small but growing, with e-models accounting for 5% of total scooter and motorcycle sales in the last fiscal year against a government target of 70% by 2030. "The transition to electric vehicles could have been faster if not for the (subsidy) change but even then, there will be no major impact in the mid to long term," he said. Valued at around $750 million, Ather will raise more money before the end of 2023 to back its growth plans, he said, without giving more details. "India will not only be the largest market in the world for electric two-wheelers but also the largest exporter," he said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Tarun Mehta, Mehta, Ather, Electric, Hero MotoCorp, Aditi Shah, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Ather, Reuters, Softbank, TVS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India

Based on the historical record, after prices peak it takes on average 5 months for drilling to turn down and 12 months for production to decline. Following the drilling peak, Lower 48 output is likely to peak in the third quarter of 2023, as exploration and production firms work their way through the inventory of drilled but uncompleted oil wells. Chartbook: U.S. oil and gas productionOn the gas side, dry production amounted to 3,082 billion cubic feet in June, an increase of 4% compared with the same month a year earlier (“Natural gas monthly”, EIA, Aug. 31). Like oil, though perhaps a few months later, gas production is likely to peak and turn lower before the end of 2023 as low prices and the slowdown in drilling filter through. Related columns:- Oil market to tighten modestly in late 2023 (August 17, 2023)- U.S. oil and gas production begins to flatten (August 4, 2023)- U.S. oil and gas production set to turn down later in 2023 (July 5, 2023)- U.S. oil and gas output still rising in response to high prices last year (June 1, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Baker Hughes, John Kemp, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: U.S . Energy Information Administration, “ Petroleum, Saudi, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Gulf, Mexico, Ukraine, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Russia

HAVANA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Representatives of 14 western creditor nations, grouped in the Paris Club, were in Cuba this week to salvage a debt agreement with the import dependent country which is expected to default on payments for a fourth consecutive year. William Roos, co-chairman of the Paris Club, had said on Wednesday that he proposed a plan which apparently was rejected. The 2015 Paris Club agreement forgave $8.5 billion of the $11.1 billion in sovereign debt Cuba defaulted on in 1986. Cuba, which last reported foreign debt of $19.7 billion for 2020, has restructured debt with Russia, China and some other creditors since then. The Cuba group of the 22-member Paris Club, which manages old sovereign debt, comprises Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Persons: ”, William Roos, Ricardo Cabrisas, Cabrisas, Marc Frank, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Paris Club, Investment, Cooperation, Communist, Gross, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, Paris, Russia, China, Caribbean, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Advocacy group Noyb on Thursday filed complaints against Google-owned Fitbit in Austria, the Netherlands and Italy accusing the fitness tracking company of violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy regime. Vienna-based Noyb (None Of Your Business), the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, has already filed hundreds of complaints against big tech companies ranging from Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google to Meta over privacy violations, some leading to big fines. Fitbit forces its users to consent to data transfers outside the EU and does not provide the possibility to withdraw their consent, violating GDPR's requirements, Noyb said. Fines for violating GDPR rules can reach up to 4% of a firm's global annual revenue. While GDPR allows every person to withdraw their consent, Fitbit's privacy policy states that the only way to withdraw consent is to delete an account, which means losing their previously tracked workouts and health data, Noyb said.

Persons: Michele Tantussi, Max Schrems, Noyb, Fitbit, doesn't, Bernardo Armentano, Supantha Mukherjee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: IFA, REUTERS, Rights, Google, European, Data Protection, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Rights STOCKHOLM, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Vienna, Stockholm

☆ Europe's Gabon-exposed stocks slide after military coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Danilo Masoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Shares in European oil producers, miners and other companies with large exposures to Gabon plummeted on Wednesday after a military coup raised concerns over their operations in the resource-rich African country. "Shares are reacting to concerns over the backdrop in Gabon," said Investec equity analyst Alex Smith in London. However, Assala Energy, which current owner Carlyle (CG.O) has agreed to sell to Maurel, said its oil production in Gabon was unaffected. "Note Gabon production represents around 20% of group production. Oslo-listed Panoro Energy (PENR.OL) and BW Energy (BWE.OL) were down 5% and 7%, respectively, and U.S.-based Vaalco Energy (EGY.N) fell 13.8%.

Persons: Maurel, Eramet, Alex Smith, Ali Bongo, Carlyle, Investec's Smith, Danilo Masoni, Alun John, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: MILAN, Military, REUTERS, Staff, Rights, Assala Energy, Energy, BW Energy, Vaalco Energy, Thomson Locations: Gabon, London, France, Frankfurt, Germany, Gabonese, Mouila, OPEC, Oslo, U.S, Gabon's

The logo of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is pictured at the entrance to its branch in Beijing, China April 1, 2019. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) (601398.SS), the country's biggest lender, and Bank of China (BoC) (601988.SS) posted in exchange filings first half profit growth of 1.2% and 0.78%, respectively, from a year earlier. "There are some regional risks that have begun to emerge," Liu said, adding that asset quality has declined slightly but remains under control. BoC's NIM narrowed to 1.67% at end-June from 1.7% at end-March. "Chinese banks are likely to continue to face earnings pressure from margin compression," said Ming Tan, director at S&P Global Ratings.

Persons: Florence, Liu Jiandong, Liu, NIM, BoC's NIM, ICBC, Ming Tan, Tan, BoC's, Ziyi Tang, Engen Tham, Selena Li, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Mark Potter, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, REUTERS, BoC, Commercial Bank of China Ltd, Bank of China, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, ICBC's

The greenback hit 146.75 Japanese yen, the highest since Nov. 9, and last traded at 146.51, up 0.05% on the day. Traders are watching out for any signs of intervention in the currency market from Japanese authorities as the yen weakens. The euro has weakened against the greenback for the past month due to the diverging economic outlooks for each region. China's yuan steadied against the dollar, buoyed by the Chinese central bank persistently setting stronger-than-expected daily-mid-points. The China-sensitive Australian dollar rose 0.32% to $0.6423, having taken a beating this month as worries over China's sputtering post-pandemic recovery weighed on sentiment.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kazuo Ueda, Jerome Powell, ”, Marc Chandler, Tommy Wu, Karen Brettell, Joice Alves, Kirsten Donovan, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of America, Federal, Treasury, Bank of Japan, greenback, Bannockburn Global, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: U.S, Japan, Europe, Bannockburn, New York, China, Commerzbank, London

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