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For the week, the Nasdaq climbed 2.02%, while the S&P rose 1.01%, and the Dow gained 0.66%. The gains gave the S&P 500 its highest close since April 4, 2022. Barclays said investors flocked to equities this week, with inflows of $10 billion to U.S.-listed stocks, according to a note to clients. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.64-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.81-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 83 new highs and 84 new lows.

Persons: Scott Ladner, Win Murray, Diamond Hill, Jerome Powell, Brendan McDermid, Peers, Dow, Jim Farley, Carolina Mandl, Kamdar, Johann M, Maju Samuel, Deepa Babington Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Big Tech, Federal Reserve, Horizon Investments, Dow Jones, Barclays, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Peers Nvidia, Marvell Technology, Treasury, Bank of Japan, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Enphase Energy, Juniper Networks, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Reata Pharmaceuticals, NYSE, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, New York City, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Wall St Week Ahead Hopes of 'Goldilocks' economy, rate peak buoy US stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The S&P 500 is up nearly 19% this year after gaining around 1% in the past week. At the same time, investors believe the Fed is unlikely to deliver much more of the monetary policy tightening that shook markets last year. A test of the economy comes next week, when the U.S. reports employment numbers for July. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is up nearly 44% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 information technology sector has gained nearly 46%. The S&P 500 tech sector now trades at 28.2 times forward earnings, from 19.6 at the start of the year.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Jerome Powell, Bob Kalman, Torsten Slok, Burns McKinney, Randy Frederick, wouldn't, David Randall, Ira Iosebashvili, Deepa Babington Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Federal, Miramar Capital, Apollo Global Management, Meta, Roku Inc, NJF Investment Group, Apple, Microsoft, Schwab Center, Financial Research, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Miramar

U.S. annual inflation slowed considerably in June, likely pushing the Federal Reserve closer to ending its fastest interest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s, data showed on Friday. Barclays said investors flocked to equities this week, with inflows of $10 billion to U.S.-listed stocks, according to a note to clients. On the earnings front, Intel's (INTC.O) results and forecast pointed to an improving PC market, sending the chipmaker's shares up. The yield on the U.S. 10-year note slipped from 4% hit in the previous session, lifting megacap growth and technology stocks sharply higher. Reata Pharmaceuticals (RETA.O) surged after Biogen (BIIB.O) agreed to buy the rare disease drugmaker for nearly $6.5 billion.

Persons: Scott Ladner, Win Murray, Diamond Hill, Jerome Powell, Peers, Dow, Jim Farley, Carolina Mandl, Kamdar, Johann M, Maju Samuel, Deepa Babington Organizations: Horizon Investments, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Barclays, Peers Nvidia, Marvell Technology, Treasury, Bank of Japan, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Enphase Energy, Juniper Networks, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Reata Pharmaceuticals, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, New York, Bengaluru

Bolstered by supply cuts from the OPEC+ alliance announced earlier this month, both oil benchmarks gained nearly 5% for the week - a fifth straight week of gains. The benchmarks are on track to gain over 13% for the month. In an interview on Friday, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) chief Darren Woods said he expected record oil demand this year and next. On the supply side, U.S. oil rigs fell by one to 529 this week, their lowest since March 2022, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) said on Friday. Saudi Arabia is expected to extend the voluntary oil output cut for another month to include September, five analysts said, to provide additional support for the oil market.

Persons: Brent, Phil Flynn, Jerome Powell's, Tamas Varga, Darren Woods, Baker Hughes, Stephanie Kelly, Natalie Grover, Laura Sanicola, Andrew Hayley, Deepa Babington, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: drillers, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, U.S, West Texas, Price Futures, Federal, Exxon Mobil, Thomson Locations: France, Spain, China, OPEC, United States, U.S, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, New York, London, Washington, Beijing

☆ Italy's Leonardo to focus on 'bytes and data', new CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, July 28 (Reuters) - Italy's state-controlled defence and aerospace group Leonardo (LDOF.MI) needs to focus on the fast-growing cybersecurity and space sectors to keep up with industry trends, its new CEO said on Friday. "Defence is increasingly made with bytes and data, instead of bullets," Cingolani said during a call with analysts, announcing a new industrial plan that will be unveiled in early 2024. In the first half of 2023, Leonardo's new orders rose to almost 8.7 billion euros ($9.60 billion), up 18.9% year-on-year, while group net debt fell to 3.6 billion euros from 4.8 billion euros in the first half of last year. H1 revenues were up 4.8% to just under 6.9 billion euros, while earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 3.5% to 703 million euros. Leonardo's confirmed guidance for 2023 includes a forecast for new orders at around 17 billion euros, revenues in the 15-15.6 billion euro range, EBITA at 1.26-1.31 billion euros and group net debt of about 2.6 billion euros.

Persons: Leonardo, Roberto Cingolani, Cingolani, Leonardo's, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Deepa Babington Organizations: Defence, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Italy, Britain, Japan, Leonardo's Milan

U.S. annual inflation slowed considerably in June, likely pushing the Federal Reserve closer to ending its fastest interest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s. Most of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors posted gains, led by communications services (.SPLRCL), which gained 2.01% as big tech companies kept an upward trend after announcing earnings earlier this week. More than half of the firms listed on the S&P 500 have reported second quarter earnings as of Friday, out of which 78.7% have surpassed analyst expectations, according to Refinitiv data. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.31-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.62-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 73 new highs and 69 new lows.

Persons: Win Murray, Diamond Hill, Peers, Dow, Jim Farley, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Maju Samuel, Deepa Babington Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Peers Nvidia, Marvell Technology, Treasury, Bank of Japan, Big Tech, Dow Jones, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Enphase Energy, Juniper Networks, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Reata Pharmaceuticals, NYSE, Thomson Locations: China, Bengaluru

☆ Mexican peso hits 7-1/2 year high vs dollar, further gains eyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The currency, which has been dubbed the "super peso" in some quarters, including by its most prominent cheerleader, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, strengthened by more than 1.3% in morning trading to 16.63 per dollar. "What's happening with the peso right now is due to weakness in the dollar, but also because of optimism surrounding the Mexican peso," said Banco Base analyst Gabriela Siller. "And with this international investors keep buying Mexican pesos and it may keep appreciating," she added. Data pointing to softening U.S. inflation on the one hand and better-than-expected growth data on the other has helped weaken the dollar and boost the peso, which could continue firming to 16.40 to the dollar, Siller said. Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gabriela Siller, Siller, Anthony Esposito, Aida Pelaez, Fernandez, Deepa Babington Organizations: MEXICO CITY, greenback, Federal Reserve, Banco Base, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, America, United States

The ruling allows the oversight district to pursue its case that seeks to void "backroom deals" favorable to Disney that were struck with a prior district board earlier this year. A Disney spokesperson said the decision "has no bearing" on the federal lawsuit seeking to "vindicate Disney's constitutional rights." "We are fully confident Disney will prevail in both the federal and state cases," the spokesperson said in an email. The skirmish began last year after Disney criticized a Florida law banning classroom discussion of sexuality and gender identity with younger children. DeSantis rallied lawmakers to pass bills that reconstituted the district as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and transferred power over the board to the governor from Disney.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Disney, Lawmakers, Tom Hals, Jody Godoy, Deepa Babington, Jonathan Oatis, Richard Chang Organizations: Walt Disney Co, DeSantis, Disney, Republican, Central, Thomson Locations: WILMINGTON , Delaware, Florida, Central Florida, District, Wilmington , Delaware, New York

The White House has said Biden was never in business with his son. "Republicans may have to find something else to criticize me for now that inflation is coming down. "Workers who have been left behind for decades aren't just finding jobs, more jobs, they're finding better jobs, with higher pay," Biden said. Biden detailed decades of job loss in Maine, as the state's historical industries, including textiles and paper, shut factories for lower-cost destinations. Several Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives met at the White House on Friday to discuss implementing the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that Biden has signed into law.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, Hunter Biden, David Weiss of, Jonathan Ernst Biden's, Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, Steny Hoyer, Jarrett Renshaw, Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland, Leslie Adler, Heather Timmons, Deepa Babington Organizations: Republican, Republicans, U.S, Trump, White, Workers, Auburn Manufacturing Inc, FOCUS, Auburn Manufacturing, REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Auburn, Democratic, U.S . House, Thomson Locations: AUBURN, Maine, Washington, David Weiss of Delaware, U.S, Auburn , Maine, Auburn, Maine’s, New England

Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority weapons aid for Taiwan in the 2023 budget. One official, speaking on the condition anonymity, said the package is expected to be worth around $330 million. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has repeatedly demanded the United States, Taiwan's most important arms supplier, halt the sale of weapons to the island. Taiwan has said its defense spending this year will focus on preparing weapons and equipment for a "total blockade" by China, including parts for F-16 fighters and replenishing weapons.

Persons: General Atomics, Defense Lloyd Austin, Mark Milley, Mike Stone, Idrees Ali, Chris Sanders, Deepa Babington, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Congress, U.S . Air Force, Cultural, Defense, Presidential, Authority, U.S . Army, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Thomson Locations: United States, Taiwan, China, Taipei, Beijing, U.S, Ukraine

Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority weapons aid for Taiwan in the 2023 budget. One official, speaking on the condition anonymity, said the package is expected to be worth around $330 million. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has repeatedly demanded the United States, Taiwan's most important arms supplier, halt the sale of weapons to the island. Taiwan has complained of delays to U.S. weapon deliveries, such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as shipments from U.S. stockpiles moved to Ukraine.

The company's total revenue rose 1.7% to $30.51 billion in the quarter, beating analysts' average estimate of $30.13 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Ad revenue in content and experiences fell 4.9% from the same quarter a year prior, in a weak but stable advertising environment. Paid subscribers increased by two million in the second quarter, to 24 million, from the 22 million it reported in the previous quarter. Theme parks revenue climbed 22.4%, thanks to demand for attractions such as “Super Nintendo World” in Hollywood and Osaka, Japan. Overall, net income attributable to Comcast rose 25.1% to $4.25 billion in the quarter.

Persons: Mario, Peacock, Factset, Helen Coster, Deepa Babington Organizations: YORK, Comcast, Revenue, Nintendo, Competition, Mobile US Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, Thomson Locations: Hollywood, Osaka, Japan

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered his administration to begin sharing evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), a U.S official said on Wednesday. The ICC, a permanent war crimes tribunal, in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for suspected deportation of children from Ukraine, which would be a war crime. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have accused the Pentagon of effectively undermining war crimes prosecution of Russia by blocking the sharing of U.S. military intelligence with the ICC. Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the ICC prosecutor who in March prepared a warrant for Putin on war crimes charges. A successful war crimes prosecution requires a high standard of proof, in a situation where access to suspects and crime scenes is often restricted and there is overlapping jurisdiction between national and international courts.

Persons: Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Biden, Putin, Trevor Hunnicutt, Idrees Ali, Ismail Shakil, Rami Ayyub, Dan Whitcomb, Jonathan Oatis, Deepa Babington Organizations: Hague, Court, ICC, U.S, Pentagon, New York Times, National Security, Ukraine’s, Republican, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russia

July 27 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. The Nasdaq fell only 0.1% and 'big tech' fell less than 1% but that masked huge moves in some shares which added or wiped out tens of billions of dollars of market cap. Back in Asia, a sense of realism returned over the expected measures from Beijing to revitalize the economy. After outsized gains on Tuesday - a 14% surge in property stocks - major indices in China and Hong Kong closed in the red. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Jerome Powell, Dow Jones, Deepa Babington Organizations: Federal, Fed, ECB, Bank of, U.S, Nasdaq, Microsoft, Meta, Facebook, Investors, Central Bank, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Asia, U.S, Beijing, China, Hong Kong, Australia

The official opposition Conservatives, who blame Trudeau for housing shortage and spiking inflation, have consistently been ahead in the polls for over year. "Bringing in fresh energy with new members and new challenges was important for our economic team in particular," Trudeau told reporters after the shuffle. [1/5]Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for a family photo with cabinet ministers, following a cabinet shuffle, at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Blair GableConservative leader Pierre Poilievre pounced on the shuffle, calling it evidence of the prime minister's failures. "Justin Trudeau may have fired many of his cabinet ministers today, but he's just as out of touch as ever, doubling down on his inflationary, high-spending and high-taxing ways," he said in a statement.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Chrystia Freeland, Francois, Philippe Champagne, Melanie Joly, Sean Fraser, Frank Graves, Blair Gable, Pierre Poilievre pounced, Jagmeet Singh, Kurl, Angus Reid, David Ljunggren, Steve Scherer, Ismail Shakil, Paul Simao, Mark Heinrich, Deepa Babington, Mark Porter Organizations: OTTAWA, Canadian, Liberal, Finance, Innovation, Infrastructure, Conservatives, Abacus, Canada's, Rideau Hall, REUTERS, Blair Gable Conservative, New Democrats, New, Angus, Angus Reid Institute, Liberals, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada

☆ Factbox: Key moves in Justin Trudeau's cabinet shuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OTTAWA, July 26 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet on Wednesday, appointing new heads at 30 of the 38 ministries, adding seven new faces. Bill Blair took over as defense minister, his fourth cabinet post under Trudeau since 2018, where he will oversee military efforts to help Ukraine and reinforce NATO. The former Toronto police chief, 69, had previously been in charge of border security, public safety and then emergency preparedness. Marc Miller, 50, was promoted to immigration minister from crown indigenous relations. Fraser, 39, had been immigration minister since October 2021.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Anita Anand, Anand, Bill Blair, Trudeau, Dominic LeBlanc, Marco Mendicino, Marc Miller, Sean Fraser, Mark Holland, Jean, Yves Duclos, Pablo Rodriguez, Arif Virani, David Lametti, Mona Fortier, Mendicino, David Ljunggren, Steve Scherer, Deepa Babington Organizations: OTTAWA, Canadian, WHO, Treasury Board, NATO, Toronto police, Liberal, Canadian Heritage, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Fraser, Ontario

[1/5] Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for a family photo with cabinet ministers, following a cabinet shuffle, at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 26, 2023. Dominic LeBlanc becomes public safety minister, taking over for Marco Mendicino, and Arif Virani moves from the back benches to become justice minister. "The shuffle does send a clear message that the government is aware that their current standing with the electorate is not healthy." An Abacus Data poll out on Wednesday shows his party opening up a big lead on the Liberals with 38% to 28% in public support. Poilievre pounced on the shuffle, calling it evidence of the prime minister's failures.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Blair Gable OTTAWA, Trudeau, Chrystia Freeland, Francois, Philippe Champagne, Melanie Joly, Sean Fraser, Dominic LeBlanc, Marco Mendicino, Arif Virani, Bill Blair, Anita Anand, Frank Graves, Pierre Poilievre, Poilievre pounced, Shachi Kurl, Angus Reid, David Ljunggren, Steve Scherer, Paul Simao, Mark Heinrich, Deepa Babington Organizations: Canada's, Rideau Hall, REUTERS, Canadian, Finance, Innovation, Infrastructure, Defense, Conservative, Abacus, Twitter, New Democrats, Angus, Angus Reid Institute, Conservatives, Liberals, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada

OTTAWA, July 24 - Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to reshuffle his cabinet this week, likely replacing ministers deemed to have struggled in their posts or who are not planning on running again in the next election, two government sources said. It is common for cabinet members to clear their schedules and be called to Ottawa ahead of a reshuffle. Speaking to reporters in Toronto, the 72-year-old minister did not say whether she would stay in government in the meantime, adding only that she would do "whatever the prime minister wants me to do". The most influential ministers including Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson are expected to keep their jobs. Trudeau won a parliamentary majority in 2015 but was reduced to leading a minority government after elections in 2019 and 2021.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Carolyn Bennett, Marco Mendicino, Chrystia Freeland, Melanie Joly, Francois, Philippe Champagne, Jonathan Wilkinson, Steve Scherer, David Ljunggren, Deepa Babington, David Holmes Organizations: OTTAWA, Canada's Liberal, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, Mental, Liberal, Monday, Public Safety, Finance, Innovation, Natural Resources, New Democrats, Conservatives, Liberals, Thomson Locations: Ottawa, Toronto

Companies AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc FollowJuly 21 (Reuters) - A judge on Friday blocked a proposed settlement on AMC Entertainment Holdings' (AMC.N) stock conversion plan that would allow the company to issue more shares, sending its common shares soaring and preferred shares down in after-hours trading. AMC shares were up 69% at $7.44 in trading after the bell. The company was sued in February for allegedly rigging a shareholder vote that would allow AMC to convert preferred stock to common stock and issue hundreds of millions of new shares. Without the proposed settlement, common stockholders and preferred shareholders would end up owning 34.28% and 65.72% of AMC, respectively. While the deal would compensate common stock holders for the dilution, they had no right to settle potential claims by holders of preferred stock, Zurn wrote on Friday.

Persons: Chancellor Morgan Zurn, Zurn, Jody Godoy, Franklin Paul, Deepa Babington, Chris Reese Organizations: AMC Entertainment Holdings, Delaware, AMC, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, Thomson Locations: Delaware

Companies Tesla Inc FollowJuly 21 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday said it will reconsider its recent decision that Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk violated federal labor law by tweeting that employees would lose stock options if they joined a union. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans granted Tesla's request to revisit the case "en banc," meaning that its 16 active judges will take part. Musk issued the tweet as the United Auto Workers sought to organize employees at Tesla's plant in Fremont, California. "But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?" The appeals court panel found "substantial evidence" that the tweet was "an implied threat to end stock options as retaliation for unionization."

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Musk, Jonathan Stempel, Jonathan Oatis, Deepa Babington Organizations: Tesla, U.S, Circuit, National Labor Relations Board, Musk's, United Auto Workers, NLRB, Republican, Twitter, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Forbes, Thomson Locations: New Orleans, Fremont , California, U.S, New York

☆ Actors decry 'existential crisis' over AI-generated ‘synthetic’ actors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Synthetic performers. One issue is creating synthetic performers from an amalgamation of actors’ images. The producers have promised to obtain a performer’s consent, and bargain separately for subsequent uses of an actor’s doppelganger, sources say. The producers offered to seek a performer’s consent for any changes beyond typical alterations done post-production, sources say. SAG interprets this as AI overreach, and wants permission sought before any changes to an actor’s image, likeness or voice.

Persons: ”, Carly Turro, Duncan Crabtree, ” Crabtree, Crabtree, “, Dawn Chmielewski, Danielle Broadway, Kenneth Li, Deepa Babington Organizations: Hollywood, SAG, Alliance, Television Producers, Thomson Locations: Ireland, Los Angeles

☆ Amazon builds $120 million satellite processing hub in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) is building a $120 million processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for its thousands of planned Kuiper internet satellites, the company and state officials said Friday. The Kuiper internet network, which will largely compete with Starlink from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is expected to complement Amazon’s web services powerhouse. The Florida facility will employ 50 staff and be a last stop for Amazon's Kuiper satellites before they go to space, after being manufactured at the Kuiper project's primary plant in Redmond, Washington. The company has bagged 77 heavy-lift rocket launch contracts, potentially worth billions of dollars combined, mostly from the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin. Anna Farrar, a spokeswoman for Space Florida, a state-funded entity to attract space businesses to Florida, said Amazon is eligible to receive funds under a state grant for transportation-related projects but "has not received any funding to date."

Persons: Steve Metayer, Jeff Bezos's, Anna Farrar, Joey Roulette, Deepa Babington Organizations: Kennedy Space Center, Amazon, Starlink, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Kuiper Production, Boeing, Lockheed, United Launch Alliance, Origin, Space, Thomson Locations: Florida, Redmond , Washington, Space Florida

☆ Huntington Bancshares beats Q2 profit estimates on interest income strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 21 (Reuters) - Huntington Bancshares (HBAN.O) beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Friday, as it earned more from rising interest rates and saw strong demand for its commercial loans. "There is increasing optimism around a very modest slowdown, (or) recession," the bank's CEO Stephen Steinour said, citing stimulus spending from the government. "The interest rate outlook has continued to change," said Steinour, adding there are expectations that rates will remain higher for a longer period. Huntington earned $0.35 per share in the second quarter versus analysts' average estimate of $0.34 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Total deposits at Huntington were $148 billion, up nearly 2% from the first quarter.

Persons: Huntington, Stephen Steinour, NII, Niket, Saeed Azhar, Shweta Agarwal, Deepa Babington Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Comerica, Fifth Third Bancorp, Thomson Locations: U.S, Columbus , Ohio, Huntington, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Pacific Gas and Electric says it can meet California power demand this summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 21 (Reuters) - Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on Friday said it is prepared to meet increased electricity demand in California this summer with new energy supply amid an ongoing heat waveThe company said it is bringing online new resources like battery energy storage, including an additional 700 megawatts (MW) than it had last summer. At the time, PG&E said it had just 6.5 MW of battery energy storage connected to the power grid. By September, it expects to have 1,700 MW online, or enough to meet the demand of 1.2 million homes at once, it said. PG&E said it is modifying programs that offer financial incentives for residential and business customers who reduce energy use during peak demand. PG&E also said it expects to have adequate hydropower to help meet peak summer demand periods.

Persons: Ashitha, Deepa Babington Organizations: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Thomson Locations: California, Bengaluru

☆ NFL owners approve sale of Commanders, former owner fined $60 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

July 20 (Reuters) - National Football League owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Washington Commanders franchise to a group led by the co-owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, the league said on Thursday. Financial terms of the deal to purchase the Commanders from Dan Snyder, who was fined $60 million by the NFL for workplace misconduct after the approval was announced, were not disclosed. Former NBA great Johnson wrote on Twitter that he is both "honored and ecstatic" to be a co-owner of an NFL team. The investigation also concluded that the Commanders withheld about $11 million in revenue, and possibly more, that should have been shared with other NFL teams. In 2021 the NFL fined the Commanders $10 million after an independent counsel review found the workplace demonstrated "a general lack of respect" towards women.

Persons: Dan Snyder, Josh Harris, Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, Harris, Johnson, Snyder, Frank Pingue, Deepa Babington Organizations: National Football League, Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, NFL, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Fame, Los Angeles Lakers, 76ers, Devils, Premier League soccer, Crystal, Apollo Global Management, Washington, NBA, Twitter, Congress, Forbes, U.S . House, Thomson Locations: Maryland, U.S, Toronto

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