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☆ UniCredit, RBI among banks on hook for $2.4 bln in Signa loans -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

RBI, which the person said had sharply reduced its exposure to the Signa group in recent years, declined to comment on Thursday. The European Central Bank (ECB), which supervises the banks, declined to comment. Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederoesterreich-Wien, Raiffeisen Landesbank Oberoesterreich and Erste Group are also among the banks with exposures to Signa, the person said. The other two Austrian banks declined to comment. A spokesperson for Austria's central bank said it had no concerns about the country's financial stability, when asked about Signa's financial position.

Persons: UniCredit, Signa, Rene Benko, Fitch, Landesbank, Banks, Arndt Geiwitz, Francesco Canepa, Tom Sims, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: Signa Group, Chrysler, Raiffeisen Bank, Bank, European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Erste Group, Erste, Austria's National Bank, Market Authority, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, Banks, Austria, Bank Austria, Wien

☆ Amazon's decision to shutter its ad server next year is a major win for Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"Amazon had the power to do it, but they bottled it," said a former senior Amazon adtech staffer who worked on the ad server. Amazon's own marketing team had also shifted a lot of its ad serving requirements to Amazon Ad Server. Amazon said only a small proportion of its marketing is run through the Amazon Ad Server. Amazon's $20 billion-plus annual advertising budget also includes TV, outdoor, and other media channels that don't require ad serving technology. "Ultimately it was probably the right strategic move to depreciate," the Amazon Ad Server, said Caprio.

Persons: Google's, Mediaocean's, Michael Horst, Arnaud Creput, Mike Caprio, aren't, Caprio Organizations: Amazon, Google, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Amazon Advertising, Sizmek, Market Authority Locations: Americas

☆ UK minister rejects Microsoft criticism of decision to block Activision deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard's games characters in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - British business minister Kemi Badenoch said on Tuesday she did not agree with Microsoft (MSFT.O) President Brad Smith that the Competition and Market Authority's initial decision to block its purchase of videogame maker Activision was bad for Britain. "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) has since said it will sell its streaming rights in a fresh attempt to win approval from Britain's anti-trust regulator, the CMA, for its $69 billion sale to Microsoft. "If the CMA is doing something wrong, I think that will become evident through a pattern which is not yet the case." Reporting by Alistair Smout and Muvija M; Editing by Sachin RavikumarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kemi Badenoch, Brad Smith, Badenoch, Alistair Smout, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, REUTERS, Britain, CMA, Thomson Locations: United States

AMSTERDAM, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Investment company Exor (EXOR.AS) was able to build a 15% stake in Dutch healthcare group Philips (PHG.AS) without triggering the usual disclosures thanks to derivatives deals through Goldman Sachs, regulatory filings show. Exor's investment was seen as a vote of confidence in Philips and boosted the Dutch company's shares. Filings by the Dutch Financial Market Authority AFM dated Aug. 14 but published late on Wednesday showed Goldman Sachs had taken an 12.11% stake in Philips using a derivatives structure that included 95 million call options. Sources confirmed to Reuters earlier this week that Goldman Sachs acted on behalf of Exor but could not give more details. Exor and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) declined to comment.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Italy's Agnelli, Roy Jakobs, Exor, Allen, Overy, De Brauw, Philips, Toby Sterling, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Andres Gonzalez, Valentina Za, Victoria Farr, Jane Merriman Organizations: Investment, Philips, Dutch, US Securities and Exchange, Reuters, Overy, Thomson Locations: Philips, Dutch

☆ Diablo IV crosses $666 million in sales in five days, a record for Activision Blizzard
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Activision Blizzard's new Diablo video game broke $666 million in global sales in the span of five days, the company said Wednesday. Diablo IV, which launched June 6, has become Activision subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment's fastest-selling game ever, the company added. Microsoft dominates the space, and with a possible Activision acquisition, it would be able to make popular franchises beyond Diablo exclusive to Microsoft's cloud platform, the CMA said. Diablo IV isn't available on Game Pass, an Activision executive said in March. The sales record, while record breaking for Blizzard, is not an industry record.

Persons: Diablo Organizations: Activision, Blizzard, Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, FTC, Authority, CMA, Marquee, Electronic Arts, FIFA, Madden Locations: California

☆ Crypto bill from Republicans lays out clear roles for SEC and CFTC
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The bill proposes a clearer pathway for the registered offer and sale of digital assets. Crypto exchanges have been calling for regulatory clarity in the wake of expansive enforcement actions that have left companies and developers scrambling to move operations beyond the U.S. Crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini have both announced off-shore exchange operations. Coinbase also is engaged in a bruising courtroom battle with the SEC over the very issues that apparently prompted the McHenry-Thompson bill. The crypto exchange received a Wells notice, a warning of impending enforcement action, from the SEC earlier this year. The draft bill will likely be reshaped and modified in coming weeks and months, but it represents a powerful vote of support from two influential Republican members.

Persons: Patrick McHenry, Glenn Thompson, Coinbase, McHenry, Thompson Organizations: Republican, Financial Services, Futures, Securities, Exchange, SEC, Gemini Locations: North Carolina, Washington ,, R

☆ Apple wins appeal against UK's decision to investigate its mobile browser
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) won its appeal against the decision by Britain's antitrust regulator to launch an investigation into its mobile browser and cloud gaming services, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled on Friday. Regulator the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) opened a full investigation in November into the dominance of Apple and Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) in mobile browsers, and the possibility of the iPhone maker restricting the cloud gaming market through its app store. Apple argued that the CMA had "no power" to launch such a probe because it did so too late. "This risks substantially undermining the CMA's ability to efficiently and effectively investigate and intervene in markets where competition is not working well. "Given the importance of today's judgment," it added, "we will be considering our options including seeking permission to appeal."

☆ Saudi bourse has 23 companies waiting to go public, says CMA head
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RIYADH, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has 23 companies approved to list on the kingdom's stock exchange, the head of the kingdom's Capital Market Authority (CMA) said on Sunday. Companies that secure approval from the CMA have six months to launch their public share sales. "If you look at this in tandem, it gives us an indication that we still have a very, very healthy pipeline," Elkuwaiz said at the Saudi Capital Market Forum. The Saudi stock market had 49 new listings last year, in which companies raised about 40 billion riyals ($10.66 billion), he said, adding that the market watchdog is also planning to create a regulatory framework for dual listings. ($1 = 3.7525 riyals)Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi Editing by Frances Kerry and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sun Cable project: Billionaires' feud over Australia-Singapore cable escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The proposed Sun Cable project would see a subsea cable stretch from Darwin to Singapore. A statement from Cannon-Brookes’ private investment arm, Grok Ventures, suggested all investors except Forrest’s investment arm Squadron Energy remain committed to the cable. Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, says the export of green hydrogen (hydrogen generated from renewable energy) is at least a decade away. “The market for green hydrogen exports has sort of deflated quite dramatically when people realize there’ll be a decade or two before you can actually ship green hydrogen anywhere overseas,” he said. For example, Xlinks plans to run a cable almost as long and powerful from Morocco to the United Kingdom.

☆ Saudi, Qatar indexes extend losses on weak oil, Egypt up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Shamsuddin Mohd | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Qatar stock markets closed lower on Sunday, as uncertainties in oil prices amid Chinese COVID-19 curbs and haggling over a cap on Russian oil prices, weighed on investors' sentiments, although Egypt rose, bucking the trend. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) fell 1.3%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) retreating 1.2%, while Sabic Agri-Nutrients (2020.SE) was down 3.9%. Separately, Saudi oil behemoth Aramco's (2222.SE) base oil subsidiary, Luberef, has received the approval from the kingdom's stock market regulator for an initial public offering, the Capital Market Authority said on Thursday. The Qatari index (.QSI) also dropped 1.1%, extending losses from previous session, led by its financial stocks with Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) and Commercial Bank Qatar (COMB.QA) plunging 1.9% and 2.1% respectively. "Egyptian stock market, supported by the large trading volumes by local investors, continue to maintain its strong performance" added Takieddine.

☆ Saudi Aramco's Luberef gets regulator nod for IPO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Saudi oil giant Aramco's (2222.SE) base oil subsidiary, Luberef, has received the approval from the kingdom's stock market regulator for an initial public offering, the Capital Market Authority said on Thursday. Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef), formerly Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co, will offer investors 50.045 million of its shares, equivalent to 29.656% of its share capital. Aramco owns 70% of Luberef and Saudi investment bank Jadwa Investment owns the remaining 30%. Gulf issuers have raised about $16 billion in initial public offerings this year, accounting for about half of total IPO proceeds from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Refinitiv data shows. Saudi Aramco's record listing on Riyadh's Tadawul exchange in late 2019, later boosted to total $29.4 billion in proceeds, was the world's largest IPO.

☆ Austrian central bank defends compulsory mortgage-lending standards
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Austria should keep its recently introduced compulsory standards for mortgage lending, the Austrian National Bank (ONB) said on Tuesday, despite a recent call by the conservative finance minister for those standards to be reviewed. Faced with a sustained housing boom and banks' widespread flouting of recommendations on mortgage lending aimed at limiting risk, Austria introduced the compulsory standards in August, though banks are still allowed to deviate from them in up to 20% of cases. With interest rates now rising, however, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner has asked that the decision to introduce the compulsory standards be reviewed to make lending easier. "The newly adopted regulation contributes to safeguarding financial stability by curbing excessive developments in residential real estate lending," the ONB said in a statement on its semi-annual Financial Stability Report, referring to the binding standards. The regulation introducing those standards was issued by the Financial Market Authority (FMA), though the standards were developed by the Financial Market Stability Board, which brings together officials from the Finance Ministry, ONB and FMA.

☆ Saudi Arabia approves dual listing of Pizza Hut, KFC franchisee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's market regulator said on Monday it had approved a concurrent and dual listing of Americana Group, the Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast-food chains KFC and Pizza Hut, in the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Americana has approval to sell 30% of its shares, which will be the first to trade in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Capital Market Authority said the approval was for a dual registration in the two countries and an offering of 2.53 billion shares. Americana is owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and an investment consortium led by Dubai businessman Mohammed Alabbar, founder of Dubai-listed Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU). ($1 = 3.7568 riyals)Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto.com chooses Paris for European headquarters
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com will set up its European regional headquarters in Paris, the Singapore-based company said on Wednesday. The cryptocurrency exchange platform, which has more than 50 million users worldwide, received regulatory approval by the French market authority last month, allowing it to offer products and services to customers in France. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterCrypto.com also got regulatory approval in the United Kingdom and Italy earlier this year. In May, cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it had registered with France's market regulator, with Binance France's general manager David Prinçay adding it was now seeking a formal licence to open a regional headquarters in France. ($1 = 1.0299 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Elena Vardon, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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