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☆ Amalgamated Bank's Growth for Good Strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAmalgamated Bank's Growth for Good StrategyFor over 100 years, Amalgamated Bank has offered banking solutions catered to the needs of marginalized groups. President and CEO, Priscilla Sims Brown explains how leaders can take a stand on social impact and ideological issues, like economic justice, gun violence, and renewable energy, while also meeting the needs of employees, clients, and stakeholders. And hear what she has to say about the backlash too.

[1/4] Law enforcement officers investigate the scene following an attack on bank ATMs in Ratingen, Germany, March 15, 2023. Courtesy of Achim Blazy/Handout via REUTERSRATINGEN, Germany, April 14 (Reuters) - In the German town of Ratingen, exploding cash machines are a hot-button topic. But in Germany, thieves are blowing ATMs up at the rate of more than one a day. Europe's largest economy has 53,000 ATM machines, a disproportionately high number that reflects Germans' preference for cash rather than bank cards. Germany is also working with officials in Belgium and France and at Europol to combat the cash machine crime wave.

☆ Hamburg police warn of possible toxins due to fire; 140 evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, April 9 (Reuters) - Police and fire officials in the German city of Hamburg warned locals of possible toxins in the air after fires broke out early on Sunday at multiple storage facilities. Some 140 people were evacuated, and it is not yet possible to say exactly how dangerous the situation is, a police spokesperson said. REUTERS/Lutz Faupel 1 2 3Authorities said the fire began around 4 a.m. in Rothenburgsort, just a few kilometres southeast of central Hamburg, and that the smoke cloud was moving in the direction of the city centre. Reuters GraphicsMultiple police, fire and other emergency workers were at the scene as a thick cloud of dark smoke billowed upwards. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chad orders German ambassador to leave the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

N'DJAMENA, April 8 (Reuters) - Chad's government ordered the German ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours, it said in a statement, a decision sources said was motivated by his comments about Chad's delayed transition to civilian rule after a 2021 coup. "This decision of the government is motivated by the discourteous attitude and the non-respect of diplomatic customs," the country's Communication Ministry said on Twitter late on Friday. Two Chadian government sources said on Saturday that Ambassador Gordon Kricke had criticised delays in holding elections after the coup, and a ruling last year that will allow interim military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby to run in elections in 2024. Military leaders in the Central African country originally promised an 18-month transition to elections when Deby seized power after his father, President Idriss Deby, was killed on the battlefield during a conflict with insurgents, ending decades of authoritarian rule. Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane, Tom Sims and Joel Honore Kouam; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"It cannot be that financial institutions are doing well because they treat their customers badly," Chan-Jae Yoo, a BaFin official, said in an interview. Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, an umbrella organisation that lobbies for German finance, said German banks are "extremely stable and robust" and confidence remains "high" and "unaffected" by recent turmoil stemming from the collapse of lenders in the United States and Switzerland. "The mere fact that consumers are increasingly asking us and seeking our advice is proof enough that they do not fully trust financial institutions," he said. Protections and rights for customers of financial institutions have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and the German courts. "We want services to establish themselves in the marketplace that meet consumer needs, not feed the financial industry," he said.

Uwe Oppitz of Rhenus Ports, who speaks for Energy Hub Port Wilhelmshaven, said that Wintershall Dea (WINT.UL) (BASFn.DE), Uniper (UN01.DE) and Tree Energy Solutions (TES) plan to spend a total of more than 5 billion euros at Wilhelmshaven. Energy Hub Port Wilhelmshaven comprises 30 companies, which include E.ON (EONGn.DE), RWE (RWEG.DE) and Orsted (ORSTED.CO), as well as Wilhelmshaven's home state of Lower Saxony. "Wintershall Dea plans to invest around 1 billion euros in the Wilhelmshaven site together with its partners," it said. And steelmaker Salzgitter (SZGG.DE) has already struck a deal with Uniper to receive green hydrogen for its steel mill processes, replacing essential fossil-fuel produced hydrogen. "We don't want to push green hydrogen to the side.

☆ Take Five: An uneasy calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Kazuo Ueda takes over the helm at the Bank of Japan while U.S. bank earnings kick off and Switzerland's parliament debates the UBS-Credit Suisse tie up. 1/ BANKS' BOTTOM LINESThe uneasy calm that has settled over the U.S. banking sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will be tested as U.S. financials kick off their earnings season. S&P 500 earnings are predicted to fall 5.0%, I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv showed. Reuters Graphics5/ SPRING MEETINGSPolicymakers and investors head to Washington for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring meetings starting on Monday. It will be the first meeting for Ajay Banga, U.S. nominee to run the World Bank and sole contender for the job.

[1/2] The landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. Russia has a 51% stake in Nord Stream 1 through a subsidiary of state-owned energy group Gazprom (GAZP.MM). While the import of Russian crude oil and oil products is banned under European Union (EU) sanctions, Russian gas imports are allowed. In September 2022, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly-built Nord Stream 2 pipelines, each more than 1,200-km-long, that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea. Gazprom and Swiss-based Nord Stream AG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

☆ 'FIFA' publisher EA to cut 6% of workforce, reduce office space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) said on Wednesday it would lay off about 6% of its workforce and reduce office space, making it the first major videogame publisher to announce job cuts. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) announced a second round of job cuts this month. Video game sales so far this year were flat and spending on video game content across platforms is down 2%, according to analytics firm Circana. Newly launched "Hogwarts Legacy" game from Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) topped the videogame sales charts in February, according to Circana. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Electronic Arts Says It Is Laying Off 6% of Workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Electronic Arts Inc. said it is laying off about 6% of its workforce and reducing its office-space footprint to focus its spending on the best growth opportunities in the videogame industry. The maker of hit franchises such as “Madden NFL” and “The Sims” didn’t specify how many people would be let go or from which departments. In the middle of last year, it said it had nearly 13,000 employees. That would translate into around 780 job cuts. The company said it plans to redeploy some of the affected employees to other areas.

☆ Electronic Arts lays off 6% of workforce in cost-cutting push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Videogame publisher Electronic Arts (EA.O) said on Wednesday it will lay off about 6% of its workforce and reduce office space, joining a host of U.S. companies that have trimmed costs to cope with a rough economy. EA, which had about 12,900 staff as of March-end last year, expects to incur between $170 million and $200 million in charges related to its restructuring plan. Corporate America, especially companies from the technology and finance sector, are reining in expenses as they brace for a looming recession amid rising interest rates around the world. The company behind the "FIFA" soccer videogame franchise and "The Sims" also said it will move away from projects that do not contribute to its strategy. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'It's honestly changed my life': Employees from one of the biggest 4-day-workweek trials say working less improved their lives but was a big adjustment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Employees working four-day weeks told Insider having the extra day off was an adjustment at first. "It's hard to overstate how good it's been," Jo Sims, a senior case manager at AKA Case Management, told Insider, adding: "It's honestly changed my life." Sims said the extra day off had improved her mental health, eased her stress levels, and left her with a new perspective. The study was led by academics from Boston College, the University of Cambridge, and the research organization Autonomy in partnership with the campaign groups 4 Day Week Global and 4 Day Week Campaign. A representative for the 4 Day Week Campaign put Insider in contact with the four employees that are referenced in this article.

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, March 27 (Reuters) - A massive strike in Germany was set to begin early Monday, crippling mass transport and airports in one of the biggest walkouts in decades as Europe's largest economy reels from soaring inflation. But officials in Germany have made clear that their fight is only about pay. The Verdi union is negotiating on behalf of around 2.5 million employees in the public sector, including in public transport and at airports. Railway and transport union EVG negotiates for around 230,000 employees at railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL) and bus companies. Employers are also warning that higher wages for transport workers would result in higher fares and taxes to make up the difference.

Two of Germany's largest airports, Munich and Frankfurt, suspended flights, while long-distance rail services were cancelled by rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL). "Millions of passengers who depend on buses and trains are suffering from this excessive, exaggerated strike," a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said on Monday. At the same time, in France they go on strike all the time about something," said passenger Lars Boehm. The head of the Bundesbank Joachim Nagel said last week Germany needed to avoid a price-wage spiral. "Despite signs of second-round effects, we have not observed a destabilising price-wage spiral in Germany so far."

[1/3] The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of a branch office in Bern, Switzerland November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoWASHINGTON/FRANKFURT, March 26 (Reuters) - Stress in the banking sector is being closely monitored for its potential to trigger a credit crunch, a U.S. Federal Reserve policymaker said on Sunday, as a European Central Bank official also flagged a possible tightening in lending. "What's unclear for us is how much of these banking stresses are leading to a widespread credit crunch. Meanwhile in Europe, the ECB believes that recent banking sector turmoil may result in lower growth and inflation rates, its vice president Luis de Guindos said. Turbulence among banking stocks on both sides of the Atlantic continued into the end of the week, despite efforts by politicians, central banks and regulators to dispel concerns.

[1/5] A general view inside the Munich Airport during a strike called by the German trade union Verdi over a wage dispute, in Munich, Germany, March 26, 2023. "The people are not only underpaid, they are hopelessly overworked," Frank Werneke, head of the Verdi labour union, told Bild am Sonntag. The Verdi union is negotiating on behalf of around 2.5 million employees in the public sector, including in public transport and at airports. Railway and transport union EVG negotiates for around 230,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL) and bus companies. "It is a matter of survival for many thousands of employees to get a considerable pay rise," he said.

☆ Two dead after shooting in Hamburg; investigation ongoing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, March 26 (Reuters) - Two people have died after a shooting in Hamburg, police said on Sunday, in a second deadly shooting in the city this month. Police said they had concluded an operation and were now investigating. A spokesperson declined to comment on the perpetrator. Bild reported that the police were called shortly before midnight and that 28 vehicles rushed to the scene. Reporting by Tom Sims;Editing by Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS, March 25 (Reuters) - The European Union and Germany have reached a deal on the future use of combustion engines, officials said on Saturday, an issue that has been closely followed by the auto industry. The agreement will allow some combustion engines beyond 2035 and was quickly condemned by a prominent environmental group. "We have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars," Frans Timmermans, head of EU climate policy, said on Twitter. "Vehicles with internal combustion engines can still be newly registered after 2035 if they fill up exclusively with CO2-neutral fuels," he said in a post on Twitter. Sweden, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said EU diplomats would vote on Monday to formally approve the 2035 phaseout law.

Companies Deutsche Bank AG FollowNEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) has settled a lawsuit in which it accused two offshore funds of reneging on an agreement to sell it $1.6 billion of claims in the bankruptcy of Bernard Madoff's namesake firm. Incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, the Kingate funds funneled client money to Madoff for many years before his Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2008. The funds sold their claims against the former Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC to Deutsche Bank for 66 cents on the dollar in 2011. But the bank said the Kingate funds later got "sellers' remorse" because the value of the claims rose substantially. The case is Deutsche Bank Securities Inc v. Kingate Global Fund Ltd et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Lloyd's of London swings to 2022 pre-tax loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, March 23 (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) swung to a pre-tax loss in 2022 and took writedowns on its fixed-income investments, it said on Thursday. The pre-tax loss was 800 million pounds ($982.56 million), compared with a profit of 2.3 billion pounds a year earlier. Rising interest rates have hit investments at many financial firms, and it posted a net investment loss of 3.1 billion pounds, compared with a 900 million pound profit in 2021. However, Lloyd's underwriting profit jumped 53% to 2.6 billion pounds. John Neal, CEO of Lloyd's, forecast 2023 premiums of 56 billion pounds, up from 46.7 billion in 2022, according to a statement.

Xbox Game Pass vs. PlayStation Plus: GamesHorizon: Forbidden West is the latest high-profile game to hit PlayStation Plus. Horizon Forbidden West / SonyThe main selling points of Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are their Netflix-style libraries of downloadable games. That said, there are a handful of Game Pass titles that are only available on console or PC, not both. Game Pass members get a 10% discount when buying games that are already on Game Pass, so you can always get a deal before a game leaves the service entirely. That 10% discount also applies to downloadable content and add-ons for Game Pass games, which aren't always included with the base version.

ZURICH, March 21 (Reuters) - Swiss authorities imposed curbs on bonus payments for Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) employees, a move that will penalise bankers after a multi-billion-franc state rescue of the bank. Credit Suisse declined to comment. Battered by years of scandals and losses, Credit Suisse for months had been battling a crisis of confidence. The bank's bonus pool shrank by 50% in 2022 to 1 billion Swiss francs, according to its annual report. The Swiss government also instructed its finance ministry to propose further measures on variable remuneration for Credit Suisse.

☆ UBS to take over Credit Suisse, assume up to 5 billion Swiss francs in losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BERN, March 19 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) agreed to buy rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) in stock and agreed to assume up to 5 billion francs ($5.4 billion) in losses, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities to avoid more market-shaking turmoil in global banking. The deal includes 100 billion Swiss francs ($108 billion) in liquidity assistance for UBS and Credit Suisse from the Swiss central bank. In that eventuality, UBS would assume the first 5 billion francs, the federal government the next 9 billion francs, and UBS would assume any further losses, the government said. Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 shares with a nominal value of around 16 billion francs ($17.2 billion) will be written down completely after the Swiss government provided support for UBS' takeover of Credit Suisse, FINMA said. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe Swiss government said that it was also giving UBS a guarantee of 9 billion Swiss francs "assume potential losses" from assets as part of the transaction.

It will change the landscape of banking in Switzerland, where branches of Credit Suisse and UBS are dotted everywhere, sometimes just metres apart. The Credit Suisse rescue, orchestrated with public money, shows banks' continued vulnerability and how their problems can quickly rebound on their home country. But it also removes a competitor to Wall Street, with UBS planning to pare back much of Credit Suisse’s investment bank. During the great financial crash, it was UBS and not Credit Suisse that needed state support. UBS earned $7.6 billion in profit in 2022, while Credit Suisse lost $7.9 billion.

Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe Swiss Bank Employees Association, in a statement to Reuters, demanded that UBS keep job cuts to an "absolute minimum". The statement underscores the sense of unease in Switzerland, with its reputation as a global financial center on the line. Green Party lawmaker Gerhard Andrey said that Credit Suisse is "such a visible institute". "A few months ago, nobody would have thought that Credit Suisse would fail. "But also that we are upholding the reputation of the Swiss financial centre."

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