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☆ Australian banking system cushioned for imminent climate change-related risks - regulator
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - Potential economic downturns caused by climate change could pose risks to the loan books of Australia's top five banks without resulting in any severe stress to the system and the economy, a risk study conducted by the country's banking regulator showed. With global focus sharply pivoting towards climate change, banks have come under increased scrutiny for their ties with fossil fuel projects, prompting them to set goals to cut emissions and raise investments in clean energy projects. These banks have "predicted they would adjust their risk appetite and lending practices, such as cutting back on high loan-to-valuation lending and reducing exposure to higher risk regions and industries", the regulator said. APRA will now consider how the assessment could be applied to other regulated industries and climate-related challenges, it said. ($1 = 1.4948 Australian dollars)Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kenya's Centum Investment H1 pretax loss widens to 1.24 bln shillings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Women work at the front desk of the Centum Investment Company Limited in Nairobi, Kenya November 11, 2015. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola/File PhotoNAIROBI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Kenya's Centum Investment (CTUM.NR) said on Tuesday its pretax loss widened to 1.24 billion shillings ($10.14 million) in the first half of the year to end-September from a loss of 697 million shillings in the same period a year earlier. It said in a statement its company investment and other income fell to 713.4 million shillings from 987 million shillings, while operating and administrative costs dropped to 254.7 million shillings from 328.2 million shillings. Centum, which invests in listed firms and private companies, said company net asset value per share, a key measure of performance for investment firms, fell to 59.77 shillings from 62.10 shillings. In June, Centum said it agreed to sell its 83.4% stake in Kenya's Sidian Bank to Nigeria's Access Bank for 4.3 billion shillings.

☆ Snap employees to work from office starting February
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 28 (Reuters) - Snap Inc (SNAP.N) will require 80% of its employees to return to office from end-February, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Monday. "After working remotely for so long, we're excited to get everyone back together next year with our new 80/20 hybrid model," the company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Bloomberg News first reported the development and said the owner of photo messaging app Snapchat had asked its employees to be in office four days a week starting in February. The tech industry was among the first to allow employees to work from home when COVID-19 hit the United States in 2020. Last month, ride-hailing service Uber (UBER.N) asked its employees to work from office twice a week.

☆ India's finished steel imports from Russia hit 4-year high in April-October
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Neha Arora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India's finished steel imports from Russia during April-October rose to their highest in at least four years, government data compiled by Reuters showed, underscoring Moscow's bid to divert shipments in the wake of Western sanctions. Russia accounted for just about 5% of India's total steel imports but was among the top five exporters. India's total steel imports between April and October stood at 3.2 million tonnes, up 14.5% from a year earlier. JSW Steel Ltd (JSTL.NS), India's largest steelmaker by capacity, said six to seven distressed Russian steel shipments arrived during the current fiscal year. Indian steelmakers have so far imported record 5-6 million tonnes of Russian coking coal in 2022/23, compared with less than 2 million tonnes last year.

☆ Snap employees to be in offices 80% of time from end-Feb
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 28 (Reuters) - (This Nov. 28 story has been corrected to say Snap employees will work from office 80% of the time, not that 80% of employees will return to office, in headline and paragraph 1 and changes source to company)Snap Inc (SNAP.N) will require employees to work from its offices 80% of the time, starting from the end of February, the company said on Monday. Bloomberg News first reported the development and said the owner of photo messaging app Snapchat had asked employees to be in office four days a week from February. The tech industry was among the first to allow employees to work from home when COVID-19 hit the United States in 2020. But the extent to which tech companies are embracing permanent remote work is now diverging. Last month, ride-hailing service Uber (UBER.N) asked its employees to work from office twice a week.

☆ Woodside ships first Australian LNG cargo direct to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MELBOURNE, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Woodside Energy Group (WDS.AX) said on Monday it has shipped a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to Europe from Australia's North West Shelf project for the first time, which the buyer Uniper said would help make up for supply lost from Russia. The 75,000-tonne cargo, equivalent to 100 million cubic metres of gas, was delivered on Nov. 27 to Uniper Global Commodities SE (Uniper) at the Gate Terminal on Maasvlakte, Woodside, Australia's top independent gas producer, said. Almost all LNG from Australia goes to Asia, with rare shipments going to South America. In August, amid Europe's hunt for gas to replace Russian supply, an Australian cargo was transferred onto a ship in Malaysian waters to go to Britain. Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gold dips as dollar gains on China COVID risks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Ashitha Shivaprasad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Dollar index up 0.4%Powell's speech on Wednesday awaitedNov 28 (Reuters) - Gold prices slipped on Monday, as the dollar strengthened on safe-haven demand triggered by protests in several Chinese cities over the country's strict COVID-19 restrictions. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,749.00 per ounce, as of 0314 GMT. The dollar index was up 0.4%, making the greenback-priced bullion more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. "Gold prices have been tracking the U.S. dollar's moves closely, and increased uncertainty from the growing unrest in China seems to be underpinning the dollar this morning," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong. People may be shifting to defensive assets considering the COVID situation in China, but the dollar's gains are currently overshadowing gold's safe-haven status, Yeap said.

☆ French retailer Casino launches stake sale in Brazil's Assai
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro | David French | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - French supermarket retailer Casino (CASP.PA) said on Monday it had launched a stake sale in Brazilian cash-and-carry chain Assai (ASAI3.SA) as part of its general debt-cutting plans. Casino said it was selling 140.8 million shares in Assai, representing 10.4% of the company's share capital, and that it could sell a further 3.7% of Assai later. Based on Assai's closing share price of 19.21 Brazilian real ($3.55) on Nov. 25, the sale of 140.8 million shares would be worth 2.7 billion reals ($499 million). Casino said the Assai share sale would take the form of a secondary public offering. ($1 = 5.4098 reais)Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European shares bounce as battered miners rise, ECB loan repayments eyed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.9%, with basic resources stocks (.SXPP) up 1.2% after falling more than 3% in the last two sessions. The European Central Bank gears up to start the biggest withdrawal of cash from the euro zone's banking system in its history, with banks expected to repay about 500 bln euros in TLTRO loans. The STOXX 600 has gained about 4.9% so far this month, driven by better-than-feared earnings and expectations of smaller rate increases by the Fed. Among individual stocks, Austrian hydropower producer Verbund (VERB.VI) jumped 8.2% to top the STOXX 600, while energy and environmental services provider EVN (EVNV.VI) gained 5.2%. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mr Kipling maker Premier Foods posts higher half-year adjusted profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Premier Foods (PFD.L) reported a rise in half-yearly adjusted profit on Wednesday on strong demand for its cakes and grocery products, while flagging further price pressures amid surging inflation. Surging prices have caused the biggest squeeze on UK household income since at least the 1950s. Premier Foods said adjusted profit before tax rose nearly 12% to 47 million pounds ($55.83 million) in the six months ended Oct. 1. The maker of Mr Kipling cakes and OXO cubes reported a 6.2% rise in half-year revenue and said it was on track to deliver full-year expectations. ($1 = 0.8419 pounds)Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bahamas financial regulators appoint liquidators for FTX unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Financial regulators in the Bahamas on Monday appointed liquidators to run FTX's unit in the country, just days after authorities said they were looking for any "criminal misconduct" by the collapsed crypto exchange. The Securities Commission of The Bahamas said it had won court approval and appointed two members from PwC to oversee FTX Digital Markets Ltd, a subsidiary of FTX licensed in the country. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who lives in the Bahamas, has also been the subject of speculation about his whereabouts and he denied rumors on Twitter that he had flown to South America. When asked by Reuters on Saturday whether he had flown to Argentina, he responded in a text message: "Nope". Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ YouTube expands shopping features following digital ad slowdown - FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - YouTube is bringing shopping features to its TikTok-like short-form video service, as it looks to diversify its revenue stream squeezed by falling ad spending, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Ad sales on Alphabet (GOOGL.O)-owned YouTube slipped to $7.07 billion in the third quarter from $7.2 billion a year earlier, as some advertisers pulled back on their ad spending in the face of an economic slowdown. The streaming service is also testing new commission schemes for influencers who sell products through links in videos, the newspaper said. The report comes months after YouTube unveiled a new way for creators to make money on short-form videos, introducing advertising on its video feature Shorts and giving video creators 45% of the revenue. Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares edge down as consumer, tech stocks drag
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Praveen Paramasivam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A broker reacts while trading at his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India, December 11, 2018. REUTERS/Francis MascarenhasBENGALURU, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Indian shares gave up opening gains on Tuesday, dragged by consumer and IT stocks, as investors secured profits after a four-week rally, even as data showed annual retail inflation for October eased roughly in line with estimates. Slower rise in food prices helped India's annual retail inflation ease to 6.77% in October, from 7.41% in the previous month, data showed on Monday. More than 1,000 companies reported their quarterly results on Monday as the country's month-long earnings season drew to a close. Globally, investors will get another look at U.S. inflation when the producer price index data is released at 1330 GMT.

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares may edge higher as inflation eases
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Indian shares are expected to open slightly higher on Tuesday, as data showing annual retail inflation eased to a three-month low in October strengthened bets of smaller interest rate hikes from the country's central bank. Globally, investors will get another look at U.S. inflation when the producer price index data is released later in the day. ** Tyremaker Apollo Tyres (APLO.NS) reported a rise in quarterly profit. ** Biocon (BION.NS) reported a decline in quarterly profit as the drugmaker booked a heavy tax expense. ** Indian viscose and chemicals manufacturer Grasim Industries (GRAS.NS) reported a fall in quarterly profit, with brokerage Jefferies saying global slowdown weighed on earnings.

☆ Major Gulf markets fall after Fed warning
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Major stock markets in the Gulf retreated in early trade on Monday after a top U.S. central banker warned investors against getting carried away over one inflation number. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI) dropped 1.3%, dragged down by a 4.1% slide in Retal Urban Development Co (4322.SE) and a 1.3% decline in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE). The kingdom's Public Investment Fund sold a 10% stake in the firm through a secondary share offering, raising 2.3 billion riyals ($612 million). The fund sold 12 million shares through an accelerated bookbuild offering at 191 riyals each, a 9% discount to Thursday's closing price. Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) fell 0.4%, hit by a 0.9% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).

The rupee is tipped to open at around 80.65-80.70 per dollar, up from the previous session's close of 80.7950. The local currency jumped 2% last week in its best gain in almost four years. The rupee has already corrected more than 3% from record lows and "then you have to consider oil prices", the trader said. Asian currencies began the week on a positive note, keeping up the momentum fuelled by softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data. The data has prompted traders to calibrate again the pace of Fed rate hikes.

SummarySummary Companies Sees FY profit between 860 mln euros-900 mln eurosSees consumer demand suppression in Q4, 2023Shares rise 4%Nov 8 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola HBC AG (CCH.L) raised its full-year profit forecast on Tuesday, as the soft drinks bottler benefited from resilient demand and said price rises and promotions would protect profits. Inflation at multi-year highs has pinched household budgets and forced consumers to cut their spending, but Coca-Cola is among the packaged food makers enjoying steady demand. Chief Executive Zoran Bogdanovic said trading in the fourth quarter and 2023 "might get harder because of consumer demand suppression," but added the company planned to overcome it with pricing and promotional plans. Chief Executive Zoran Bogdanovic told Reuters its factories in Russia had reduced operations and it had cut jobs in double digits. HBC raised its expectations for comparable operating profit to between 860 million euros and 900 million euros ($860.43 million and $900.45 million) for 2022, compared with an earlier forecast of between 740 million euros and 820 million euros.

☆ Emirates adds five Boeing 777 Freighters to cargo cart
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Tuesday Emirates Airline has ordered five 777 Freighters, worth more than $1.7 billion at list prices, to expand its cargo fleet. The airplanes will be operated by Emirates SkyCargo, adding to its existing fleet of 11 Freighters, Boeing said in a statement. The Middle East carrier is currently the world's largest operator of the 777 family, and has nearly 150 of the airplane type in its fleet, it added. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Major Gulf markets mixed ahead of U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Tuesday as crude oil prices fell and caution prevailed ahead of the release of U.S. inflation data. Crude prices hit their highest since August on Monday amid speculation leaders in top crude importer China were weighing an exit from the country's strict COVID-19 restrictions. Chinese health authorities doused that speculation on Saturday, reaffirming the country's commitment to its strict zero-COVID policy. State developer Nakheel secured 17 billion dirhams ($4.63 billion) in financing from local banks for new projects, including Dubai Islands and other waterfront developments. read moreThe transaction comprises 11 billion dirhams in refinancing and additional funds of 6 billion dirhams through a syndicate of three local lenders.

☆ India's Britannia Industries shares jump after profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Shares of India's Britannia Industries Ltd (BRIT.NS) rose as much as 10% on Monday, after the Good Day and Tiger biscuits maker reported late Friday a 28.4% jump in second-quarter consolidated net profit. The company's profit was 4.93 billion rupees ($59.97 million) for the three months ended on Sept. 30, beating analysts' expectations for a profit of 4.12 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Total revenue from operations rose 21.4% to 43.8 billion rupees from 36.07 billion rupees a year ago. Britannia's beat comes after peers Hindustan Unilever (HLL.NS) reported rise in profit, while Dabur India (DABU.NS) posted lower profit hit by high commodity prices. Britannia shares were the top gainer in the NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI).

☆ European shares rise as China reopening hopes lift luxury, mining stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose 1.1% by 0932 GMT. The European basic resources index (.SXPP) surged 4.6% to a seven-week high and was set for its biggest weekly gain in more than three months. Luxury giants including LVMH (LVMH.PA), Kering (PRTP.PA), Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA) and Hermes International (HRMS.PA) climbed between 2.5% and 3.5%. Among other stocks, manufacturer Andritz (ANDR.VI) surged 9.2% to the top of the STOXX 600, as its quarterly sales and profit rose significantly. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European shares rise ahead of Fed, Novo Nordisk boosts healthcare stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.3% by 0858 GMT, hovering near seven-week highs. Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) jumped 5.4% as it raised its full-year earnings outlook on strong sales of diabetes treatment Ozempic and reported a better-than-expected profit. European healthcare stocks (.SXDP) led sectoral gains with a 1.2% rise, while banks (.SX7P) advanced 0.3% ahead of what is expected to be the Fed's fourth straight 75-basis-point increase to interest rates. "There are high hopes that he will signal that there could be some softening in the U.S. central bank's aggressive approach to taming inflation." Danish hearing aid maker Demant (DEMANT.CO) tumbled 13.6% to the bottom of the STOXX 600, after it cut its full-year revenue and profit guidance for the second time in the year.

☆ European shares jump as luxury stocks, miners rally amid Fed pivot hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Luxury stocks lift euro zone blue-chipsMining, energy stocks rise on higher commodity pricesFed's two-day meeting to start later in the dayMonte dei Paschi up as cash call 93% coveredNov 1 (Reuters) - European shares jumped on Tuesday, boosted by miners and luxury stocks, amid rising hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve would slow down the pace of its interest rate hikes next month. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 1.2% by 0905 GMT, kicking off November on a solid footing and hovering at their highest in more than six weeks. The EURO STOXX 50 index (.STOXX50E) gained 1.2% after luxury giants including LVMH (LVMH.PA), Kering (PRTP.PA), Hermes International (HRMS.PA) and Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA) jumped between 2.2% and 3.9%. Miners in Europe (.SXPP) leapt 3.0% while oil & gas stocks (.SXEP) added 1%, as prices of oil and industrial metals rose against declines in the dollar. ECB President Christine Lagarde said the central bank must keep raising interest rates to fight off inflation even if the probability of a euro zone recession has increased.

☆ European shares dip as commodity stocks weigh ahead of inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) had slipped 0.1% by 0925 GMT after closing higher on Friday, with miners (.SXPP) down 0.1% while energy stocks (.SXEP) fell 0.2%. Meanwhile, euro zone inflation is seen hitting a record 10.2% in October, in what will likely make for yet another uncomfortable reading for the European Central Bank (ECB), which is targeting a 2% price growth. Among individual stocks, Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) rose 2.5% as it unveiled details of its plan to raise 4 billion francs ($4.01 billion) from investors. Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) (FMEG.DE) jumped 4.4% after the German dialysis provider on Sunday reported third-quarter earnings above market expectations. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Commodity stocks, Natwest drag FTSE 100 lower
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 down 0.7%, FTSE 250 off 1.2%Natwest falls to bottom of FTSE 100Glencore cuts core earnings guidanceOct 28 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 fell on Friday, as commodity-linked stocks dropped on worries about widening COVID-19 curbs in China, while Natwest slumped after reporting a flat third-quarter profit. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.7%, with mining (.FTNMX551020) and energy (.FTNMX601010) stocks shedding 2.8% and 0.7%, respectively, as oil and metal prices slid after top consumer China expanded COVID-19 restrictions. "I'm not surprised because the government here is desperate to find sources of revenue," said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital. "Investors are now concerned about the government taxing the significant sources of revenue that banks and energy companies have been earning." Shares of NatWest (NWG.L) dropped 7.8% to the bottom of FTSE 100 after the company reported a flat quarterly profit, blaming bad loan charges from a worsening economic outlook and the cost of exiting its Irish business.

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