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NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - British billionaire Joe Lewis has surrendered to U.S. authorities in Manhattan and is expected to appear in court later on Wednesday to face insider trading charges, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said. Two of Lewis' pilots, Patrick O'Connor and Bryan Waugh, were also charged with insider trading securities fraud. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man," Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement. Insider trading has long been a focus of Williams' office, dating to 2009 when a crackdown began under one of his predecessors, Preet Bharara. Separately on Wednesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil insider trading case against Lewis, O'Connor, Waugh and Lewis' then-girlfriend Carolyn Carter.

Persons: Joe Lewis, Lewis, Patrick O'Connor, Bryan Waugh, David Zornow, O'Connor, Waugh, O'Connor texted, Mirati, Daniel Levy, Dylan Martinez, Damian Williams, Williams, Preet Bharara, Carolyn Carter, Carter, Gurbir Grewal, Luc Cohen, Jonathan Stempel, Chris Prentice, Chizu Nomiyama, Daniel Wallis Organizations: YORK, U.S, Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham, Prosecutors, Mirati Therapeutics, Southampton Premier League, Reuters, Tavistock Group, Forbes, Attorney, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: British, U.S, Manhattan, United States, New York, Virginia

LONDON/MADRID, July 26 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) is planning to hire around 150 bankers primarily in the United States as part of its plans to accelerate growth in its investment banking business, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Santander's global corporate and investment banking chief, Jose M. Linares, discussed the plans in a town hall held in New York last week, the sources said. So far, the bank has hired more than 20 senior investment bankers chiefly in the United States, Reuters has reported. Net profit at the bank's global corporate and investment bank rose 16% year-on-year in the second quarter to 899 million euros. Santander employs currently around 8,000 staff at its global corporate and investment bank.

Persons: Jose M, Linares, Ana Botin, David Hermer, Marco Antonio Achon, Corporate Finance Darren Jones, Steven Geller, Jones, Hector Grisi, Grisi, Jesús Aguado, Andres Gonzalez, Elisa Martinuzzi, David Evans Organizations: Spain's Santander, Credit Suisse, Reuters, Banking, Corporate Finance, Linares, Global, Santander, U.S ., Thomson Locations: MADRID, United States, New York, U.S, Spanish, Mexico, Europe, Latin America, Santander, America

July 26 (Reuters) - The private equity owners of popular emergency contraception pill Plan B, Foundation Consumer Healthcare, have hired advisors to explore options including a potential sale of the company, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. A sale could value the company at more than $4 billion, the source said, adding that the process is at an early stage. Foundation Consumer Healthcare also owns brands such as Breathe Right nasal strips, Dimetapp, which is a medicine for cough and cold for children and allergy drug Alavert. Foundation Consumer Healthcare or its private-equity owners Kelso & Co and Juggernaut Capital Partners did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. The report on the potential sale was first reported by Bloomberg News.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Mariam Sunny, Sriparna Roy, Abigail Summerville, Shilpi Majumdar, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Foundation Consumer Healthcare, Reuters, Kelso & Co, Juggernaut Capital Partners, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Consumer Healthcare, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: United States, Israel, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Kenya's opposition holds vigils for slain and injured protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has repeatedly called for acts of civil disobedience against a government he accuses of raising the cost of living and consolidating power. Police killed 37 people during the protests, Kenyan rights group Independent Medico-Legal Unit said earlier this week, while Azimio claims at least 50 people were slain. The interior ministry said on Wednesday claims that security forces committed extrajudicial killings or used excessive force were false and malicious. On Wednesday Odinga, Musyoka and other opposition figures visited injured protesters at two hospitals in the capital Nairobi. Ruto has said he also would not allow Odinga into his government, but was open to meeting him.

Persons: Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Azimio, Musyoka, Odinga, William Ruto's, Ruto, Jefferson Kahinju, Humphrey Malalo, George Obulutsa, Hereward, Emelia Sithole, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Kenya Alliance, Kenyans, . Police, Kenyan, Independent Medico, Legal Unit, Wednesday Odinga, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Nairobi, Kenya, Read, NAIROBI, Unity, Hereward Holland

☆ US oil M&A jumps as private equity unloads shale assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Gary Mcwilliams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HOUSTON, July 25 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas deals rebounded in the second quarter as private equity firms shed shale portfolio investments and publicly traded oil firms grabbed smaller rivals. The surge was due in part to energy focused private equity firms EnCap Investments and NGP Energy Capital selling off a combined six portfolio companies. In total, $14 billion in private equity-owned assets have changed hands this year, Enverus said. Private equity firms have moved away from oil deals, with only 10 new exploration and production firm investments this year compared to 100 per year last decade, Enverus said. Most M&A was in the top U.S. shale field as companies looked to add oil acreage, Enverus' Dittmar said.

Persons: Enverus, Andrew Dittmar, Jon Platt, Baker Botts, Dittmar, Gary McWilliams, Nick Zieminski Organizations: EnCap Investments, NGP Energy Capital, Civitas Resources, PDC Energy, Thomson Locations: U.S, Dittmar . U.S

☆ TikTok to launch e-commerce platform in US to sell China-made goods - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 25 (Reuters) - TikTok is planning to launch in early August an e-commerce platform to sell China-made goods in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the plan. TikTok did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The reported move comes at a time when TikTok is facing heightened scrutiny from U.S. officials over concerns about data security. The company is fighting to prevent a ban in the country after lawmakers introduced a bill that would grant the Biden administration authority to ban apps that pose security risks. (This story has been refiled to add source in the headline)Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: TikTok, Zaheer Kachwala, Shailesh Organizations: Wall Street, Biden, Thomson Locations: China, United States

[1/2] A general view of the White House in Washington, U.S. June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden would veto Republican-backed defense, health and agriculture spending bills if he were presented with them, the White House said on Monday, alleging House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy was backing away from spending levels agreed to in a debt-limit deal. McCarthy and House Republicans were pushing cuts the Biden administration could not accept, the White House said in a statement on Monday. This year's bipartisan debt ceiling deal keeps fiscal 2024 spending flat at this year's levels, allowing a 1% increase for fiscal 2025. The deal was approved by 149 House Republicans - a strong party majority - along with 165 Democrats.

Persons: Jonathan Ernst, Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Biden, H.R, Kanishka Singh, Jon Boyle, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: White, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, House Republicans, Department of Veterans Affairs, House, Democratic, Republicans, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, H.R, United States, Washington

☆ AMC can build Dreamhouse on Barbenheimer buzz
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMC Entertainment (AMC.N), the struggling movie theater chain wrestling with a meme-stock hangover, saw its busiest day since 2019 this past Saturday. The company needs cash to survive, and this weekend might add enough fantasy to help it. AMC has refiled to try again, and in some ways, Barbenheimer helps. The biggest risk to the movie theater business was that it would never return to pre-pandemic levels. AMC Entertainment, one of the U.S.’s largest theater chains, recorded over 7 million moviegoers in attendance over that weekend.

Persons: Barbie, “ Oppenheimer ”, Adam Aron, Aron, –, “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Warner Bros, Comcast, Universal Pictures, AMC Entertainment, Monday, AMC, Malibu, Thomson Locations: Barbenheimer, Delaware

Four dealers confirmed that export contracts of around 2 million metric tons of rice, worth $1 billion, are at the risk of being cancelled. Before the export ban, India used to sell around 500,000 tons of non-basmati white rice every month, Gupta said. Now, prices are likely to drop, and the traders are likely to suffer losses, said a New-Delhi-based dealer with a global trade house. Traders say while global prices will go up because of India's export ban, local rates are likely to drop. Top buyers of Indian non-basmati rice include Benin, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo, Guinea, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Persons: Nitin Gupta, Gupta, B.V, Krishna Rao, Rao, Rice, Rajendra Jadhav, Mayank Bhardwaj, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Traders, Olam Agri India Ltd, Reuters, Rice, Association, El, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India, Mumbai, Delhi, Benin, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo, Guinea, Bangladesh, Nepal, Asia

☆ India's Infosys signs five-year AI deal with $2 bln target spend
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, July 18 (Reuters) - India's second-largest software services exporter Infosys (INFY.NS) said on Monday it has signed a deal with an existing client to provide artificial intelligence (AI) and automation services that will span over five years, with a target spend estimated at $2 billion. AI and automation-related development, modernization and maintenance services are included in the agreement, the company said in an exchange filing. Infosys' move comes after rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS) said it planned to train 25,000 engineers to get them certified on Microsoft's (MSFT.O) Azure Open AI. Other rival Wipro (WIPR.NS) has plans to invest $1 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) over the next three years. Bengaluru-based Infosys launched a platform called Infosys Topaz for generative artificial intelligence (AI) in late May.

Persons: ChatGPT, Navamya Ganesh, Nivedita Organizations: Infosys, Microsoft, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Bengaluru

☆ ICC ruling opens way to investigation on killings in Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a ruling on July 18, the ICC appeals judges rejected an attempt by the Philippines to block an investigation into the bloody anti-narcotics campaign of former President Rodrigo Duterte. A majority of judges rejected all four points of Manila's appeal, including that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Philippines and that authorities there were conducting their own investigation. "The ICC appeals judges' ruling marks the next step toward justice for victims of 'drug war' killings and their families," Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement. The decision left some of the families of drug war victims in tears after they watched the court proceeding online. But appeals judges ruled prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they occurred when the Philippines was still an ICC member.

Persons: Rodrigo Duterte, Harry Roque, Roque, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Bryony Lau, Kristina Conti, HRW's Lau, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Anthony Deutsch, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Neil Jerome Morales, Eloisa Lopez, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Emma Rumney, Alex Richardson Organizations: Criminal Court, ICC, Philippine, Human Rights Watch, Duterte, Police, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, MANILA, Philippines, Manila, Asia, Amsterdam

☆ Power demand breaks record in Texas again during heat wave
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 18 (Reuters) - Power demand in Texas hit a record high for a second straight day on Tuesday as homes and businesses cranked up air conditioners to escape a brutal heat wave. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state's power load, has said it has enough resources available to meet soaring demand. That is the fifth record high in ERCOT this summer. One megawatt can power around 1,000 U.S. homes on a typical day, but only about 200 homes on a hot summer day in Texas. Rising economic and population growth has boosted electricity use in Sun Belt states like Texas and Arizona even though overall U.S. power demand is projected to ease in 2023 after hitting a record high in 2022.

Persons: ERCOT, Scott DiSavino, Leslie Adler, Sonali Paul, Chris Reese Organizations: Reliability, of Texas, Sun, Thomson Locations: Texas, ERCOT, Houston, Dallas, Arizona

☆ Xi tells ex-Philippine president Duterte to promote ties with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 17 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping told former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to continue to promote cooperation between the two countries, after bilateral relations cooled with Duterte's successor seeking closer ties with Washington. Ferdinand Marcos Jr was elected as president for a six-year term in 2022, taking over from Duterte who had adopted a more pro-China stance. Under Marcos, relations between China and the Philippines have grown tense, with Manila pivoting back to its traditional ally, the United States. "During your tenure as president of the Philippines, you had resolutely made the strategic choice to improve relations with China in an attitude of being responsible to the people and to history," Xi told Duterte. Last month, Duterte told domestic media that the Philippines could become a "graveyard" if it gets caught up in U.S.-China tensions.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Rodrigo Duterte, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Xi, Marcos, Joe Biden, Duterte, Ryan Woo, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Washington, . Washington, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Philippine, Duterte, China, Philippines, Beijing, Manila, United States, U.S, ., Taiwan

With polls indicating a PP/Vox coalition government as the most likely outcome of next Sunday's national election, the reversal signals what could be a broader shift in Spain's climate change policy. "We are going to continue building bike lanes," he told Reuters. Vox has also pledged to repeal Spain's climate law, which establishes an obligation to create LEZs in cities. "Bike lanes have to be useful and not generate social alarm, so each municipality has to analyse the most appropriate location," a PP official told Reuters. Valladolid has been awarded 10.6 million euros to create an LEZ and about 4 million for bike lanes.

Persons: Teresa Ribera, Vox, Alberto Gutierrez, Miguel Diaz, Santiago Abascal, Pedro Sanchez, Sanchez, Cristina Monge, LEZs, Carmen Moriyon, Frans Timmermans, Belén Carreño, Pietro Lombardi, Andrei Khalip, Charlie Devereux, Angus MacSwan Organizations: People's Party, Elche, Vox, Reuters, United Nations, Socialist, University of Zaragoza, EU, Brussels, Cars, European Environment Agency, Thomson Locations: MADRID, VALLADOLID, Valladolid, Gijon, Castello, Europe, Spain

The recruitment is being overseen by the head of Santander Corporate and Investment Banking, Jose M. Linares, also a former JPMorgan banker. As well as the United States, some new investment bankers will join Santander in Britain and Spain. "This typically has been one of the main issues for growing an investment banking business, given that the capital consumption ... is bigger." The contribution from the overall investment bank to Santander's group's earnings rose to 32% in the first quarter of 2023, from around 20% in 2019. Overall, profits at Santander's corporate and investment bank have risen since 2019 by around 60% to 2.8 billion euros ($3.2 billion) at the end of 2022.

Persons: Ana Botin, Jose M, Linares, Goldman Sachs, Amherst Pierpont, Gonzalo Lopez, Lopez, Christiana Riley, Jose Manuel Linares, Jesús, John O'Donnell, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Spain's, JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, Santander Corporate, Investment Banking, Santander, Wall, U.S, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: MADRID, LONDON, Santander, United States, Europe, Latin America, Britain, Spain, U.S, America

☆ Australia No.3 bank clinches union deal for staff to work from home
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank (NAB) (NAB.AX), the No.3 lender, reached a deal that lets employees work from home, a union said on Friday, one of the world's first to give private-sector staff legal protection for remote work. This week the Australian federal body that sets public sector wages also agreed to a union request for uncapped work from home days. Some of Australia's biggest companies, including NAB and larger rival Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) (CBA.AX), have set minimum office attendance requirements. A CBA spokesperson said the bank respected its existing union agreement "and those matters that require consultation". 2 bank Westpac (WBC.AX) and the FSU are currently negotiating a new enterprise deal which includes the question of whether to allow work from home, the union said.

Persons: CBA's, Byron Kaye, Jamie Freed, Lincoln Organizations: SYDNEY, National Australia Bank, NAB, Finance Sector Union, FSU, Australia's, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CBA, Fair, Commission, Westpac, Thomson

☆ India blasts Chandrayaan-3 lander toward moon's south pole
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Nivedita Bhattacharjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

About 16 minutes later, ISRO's mission control announced that the rocket had succeeded in putting the Chandrayaan-3 lander into an Earth orbit that will send it looping toward a moon landing next month. India's much-awaited moon mission Chandrayaan-3 has been scheduled for launch on July 14, 2023. [1/5]India's LVM3-M4 lifts off carrying the Chandrayaan-3 lander from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, India, July 14, 2023. The lunar landing is expected on Aug. 23, ISRO has said. Modi had earlier said on Twitter that the moon mission "will carry the hopes and dreams of our nation".

Persons: Jai Hind, Satish, Space, Stringer, ISRO's, Narendra Modi's, Modi, India, Technology Jitendra Singh, Nivedita, Kevin Krolicki, Jamie Freed, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Indian Space Research, Soviet, YouTube, REUTERS, ISRO, Twitter, State for Science, Technology, Skyroot Aerospace, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Andhra Pradesh, India, United States, Soviet Union, China, Sriharikota, Bengaluru

☆ Chevron opted to buy vs build US LNG processing - gas executive
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Curtis Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 14 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp (CVX.N) is comfortable with buying U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) on long-term contracts rather than constructing its own U.S. domestic export facility, said Freeman Shaheen, the company's head of global gas. The second largest U.S. oil and gas producer in June 2022 signed agreements with LNG developers Cheniere Energy (LNG.A) and Venture Global LNG for a combined 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of the super-chilled natural gases. The Cheniere and Venture Global LNG deals will provide an outlet for natural gas flowing from its Permian Basin shale holdings in West Texas and New Mexico. It opted not to build an export terminal in the U.S., where several major plants are already under construction. Top LNG traders Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) separately filed for arbitration against Venture Global LNG for failing to supply contracted cargoes, even as it sold to non-contract customers as prices soared last year.

Persons: Freeman Shaheen, Shaheen, Curtis Williams, Josie Kao Organizations: Chevron Corp, Cheniere Energy, Venture Global LNG, Chevron, Venture Global, Reuters, Top, Shell, BP, Thomson Locations: U.S, Angola, Australia, Israel, West Texas, New Mexico, Argentina, West Africa, Calcasieu, Houston

☆ U.S. Navy plane flies through Taiwan Strait after Chinese drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, July 13 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy patrol plane flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, following two days of Chinese military exercises to the south of the island Beijing views as sovereign Chinese territory. "By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations," it said in a statement. "The aircraft's transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows." The mission followed two days of new Chinese drills near Taiwan, involving fighters, bombers and warships flying mainly to the island's south and out into the Pacific through the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan from the Philippines.

Persons: Ben Blanchard, Alex Richardson Organizations: U.S . Navy, U.s, United, Taiwan, NATO, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Taiwan, Beijing, China, United States, Navy's, Pacific, Philippines

Companies Bp Plc FollowTotalEnergies SE FollowFRANKFURT/LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Oil majors BP (BP.L) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) emerged as the winners in a 7 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind site auction in Germany worth 12.6 billion euros ($13.96 billion), highlighting the appeal of renewable assets across Europe. "The results confirm the attractiveness of investments in offshore wind power in Germany," said Klaus Mueller, president of Germany's energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur. Analysts at Jefferies noted the high price for the auction, adding that it implied "high interest in European offshore wind sites from energy companies/developers". BP won the rights to develop two projects, marking its entry into offshore wind in continental Europe and representing 4 GW out of the total, it said in a separate statement. "This is a significant milestone for BP, showing our commitment to transitioning into an integrated energy company," BP head of offshore wind Matthias Bausenwein said.

Persons: Klaus Mueller, Matthias Bausenwein, Patrick Pouyanne, TotalEnergies, Vera Eckert, Christoph Steitz, Ron Bousso, Friederike Heine, Sharon Singleton, Chris Reese Organizations: Bp, Oil, BP, Jefferies, Federal, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, LONDON, Germany, Europe, Heligoland, Baltic, Ruegen, TotalEnergies, Frankfurt, London

☆ Biden welcomes Finland to NATO ahead of summit with Nordic leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden travelled to Finland, which shares a border with Russia, straight from this week's NATO talks in Vilnius, Lithuania to participate in a U.S.-Nordic summit with the leaders of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. He will also hold a joint news conference with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto before heading back to Washington. Ahead of a bilateral meeting with Niinisto, Biden hailed Finland's as an "incredible asset" to the NATO military alliance. Niinisto said Finland's NATO membership heralded "a new era in our security", and applauded Biden for "creating unity" at the Vilnius summit which focused on uniting behind Ukraine. At this week's NATO summit, Biden described Finland and Sweden's push to join NATO as evidence Putin's "craven lust for land and power" had backfired, only serving to strengthen the military alliance.

Persons: Joe Biden disembarks, Finland Sauli, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Biden, Sauli Niinisto, Niinisto, Finland's, Tayyip Erdogan, craven, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Donald Trump, Putin, Steve Holland, Essi, Heather Timmons, Rosalba O'Brien, Emma Rumney Organizations: Air Force, United, Nordic, Summit, Read, NATO, Finland's, Russia, White, Ankara, White House, Thomson Locations: Helsinki, Vantaa, Finland, HELSINKI, Russia, Vilnius, Lithuania, U.S, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Washington, Soviet, Ukraine, Turkey

☆ Hollywood studios racing to avoid actors' strike at midnight
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People attend a demonstration held by the Writers Guild of America as the film and TV writers' strike continues, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 21, 2023. SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood's largest union, is demanding higher compensation in the streaming TV era plus safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence (AI). They would join about 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), who went on strike in early May. A strike by SAG-AFTRA would force more sets to shut down and pile pressure on studios to find a resolution. The studios and the WGA have not held talks since the writers' strike began on May 2.

Persons: Mike Blake, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Walt Disney, Lisa Richwine, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Writers Guild of America, REUTERS, SAG, Hollywood, WGA, Screen, Netflix, Disney, Comcast, Paramount Global, Alliance, Television Producers, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, Hollywood's

Zelenskiy said: "Today there are security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to NATO...that shall be further extended through arrangements with our key partners. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the G7 move misguided and "potentially very dangerous" for the West to give Ukraine security guarantees, which it said would infringe on Russia's own security. The declaration said the G7 nations would begin bilateral talks with Ukraine immediately. "We will work with Ukraine on an enhanced package of security commitments and arrangements in case of future aggression to enable Ukraine to defend its territory and sovereignty," the G7 said. Germany has already said that it would initially provide 12 billion euros in military support for Ukraine through 2032, including 3.2 billion euros for 2023.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Zelenskiy, Dmitry Peskov, Ben Wallace, Andrew Gray, Steve Holland, Sabine Siebold, Alex Richardson, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Kremlin, Wednesday, Ukraine, Soviet Union, European Union, White, U.S, Kyiv, Israel, British, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, VILNIUS, Russia, Moscow, Britain, France, Germany, United States, Soviet, Japan, Canada, Italy, Washington, Israel, Kyiv

☆ Cboe exchange to partner with Coinbase on bitcoin market surveillance in ETF push
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( John Mccrank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Exchange operator Cboe Global Markets (CBOE.Z) on Tuesday filed amended applications to list and trade shares of three spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, including one by Fidelity, to add surveillance-sharing agreements with crypto-trading platform Coinbase (COIN.O). Shares of Coinbase closed up 9.8% at $89.15 on Tuesday and hit their highest level since Aug. 16 of last year. To meet the standards, an exchange could show it "has a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to the underlying or reference bitcoin assets," the SEC said. Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) on June 29 refiled an application with the SEC to list a spot bitcoin ETF by BlackRock (BLK.N), the world's largest asset manager, which also included a surveillance-sharing agreement with Coinbase. Cboe had earlier said it expected to reach such an agreement with Coinbase, which attracted roughly half of U.S. dollar-bitcoin trading in May on its platform.

Persons: Cboe, Coinbase, John McCrank, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, Cboe, Fidelity, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Nasdaq, BlackRock, Coinbase, ., Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York

☆ Meta's Instagram to bring branded content tools to Threads - Axios
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 11 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms's (META.O) Instagram is planning to bring its branded content tools to Threads, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. Such tools will help marketers collaborate with influencers on paid partnerships on the social media platform while advertising is unavailable. Instagram allows users to port their accounts, credentials and followers to Threads, giving the text-based social media platform access to the photo-sharing platform's more-than-2 billion-strong user base. Several companies have already started making accounts on Threads to post content organically, despite a lack of advertising on the platform. However, the lack of hashtags and keyword search functions on Threads could limit the platform's appeal to advertisers.

Persons: Instagram, Axios, influencers, Elon, Mark Zuckerberg, Mrinmay Dey, Akash Sriram, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

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