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☆ KB Home expects Q2 net orders to fall amid tough year-ago comparisons
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilder KB Home (KBH.N) said on Wednesday net orders in the first two-and-a-half weeks of the ongoing second quarter fell 24% from last year, issuing a rare mid-quarter update due to the ongoing market volatility fueled by a banking crisis. The California-based company expects net orders for the second quarter, which began in March, between 3,000 and 3,700, a 14% decline when compared with the midpoint of the range from a year earlier, when steady employment and wage growth were fueling housing demand. "The banking crisis could lead to a little bit of injection of life into the housing market by lowering mortgage rates," said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. KB Home reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue, sending its shares up by 3% after the bell. Reporting by Priyamvada C and Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gold listless as investors strap in for Fed rate verdict
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kavya Guduru | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies All eyes on Fed statement at 1800 GMTFed seen hiking rates by 25 bpsHawkish Fed, rates repricing could undermine gold prices - analystMarch 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices traded in a narrow range on Wednesday as some investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and policy outlook. Spot gold was flat at $1,939.59 per ounce, as of 0318 GMT, after dropping 2% on Tuesday. Investor attention is now on the Fed's decision scheduled at 1800 GMT, followed by a press conference by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. "Key focus is on how the Fed communicates its forward guidance, in particular 'the higher for longer' rhetoric and dots plots," OCBC's Wong said. "If we do get higher dots plot, then that represents a still-hawkish Fed that is determined to fight inflation ... a potential hawkish repricing could undermine gold prices."

☆ London stocks fall as hot UK inflation data spurs rate-hike fears; Fed in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies UK inflation still in double-digit territoryReal estate stocks fall on rate-hike concernsBank stocks gain, help cut lossesFed decision awaited on Wednesday, BoE on ThursdayFTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 off 0.3%March 22 (Reuters) - London's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 fell on Wednesday, with real estate stocks leading the retreat, as hotter-than-expected UK inflation data raised fears of more interest rate hikes and boosted the pound. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) fell 0.2% after a near 2% bounce on Tuesday, with investors also waiting for the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later in the day. The pound rose sharply against the dollar after Britain's consumer price index (CPI) inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February. Real estate stocks fell (.FTUB3510) 2.2%, with British Land Company (BLND.L) down 4.2% after Morgan Stanley reduced its price target. ,Helping cut losses were banking stocks (.FTNMX301010), which gained 0.9% as fears of a crises appeared to ease.

☆ Goldman Sachs prepares claims trading for wiped out Credit Suisse debt - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) traders were preparing to take bids on claims against Credit Suisse Group's (CSGN.S) riskiest bonds, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Clients were told in a message late Sunday that the New York-based bank would soon start trading claims in the so-called additional tier 1 bonds, or AT1s, according to the report. The Swiss lender's additional tier 1 shares with a nominal value of around 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.24 billion) will be written down completely after the Swiss government provided support for UBS' takeover of Credit Suisse. Goldman did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alliance Aviation says Australian regulator delays Qantas deal review again
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: Qantas aircraft are seen on the tarmac at Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Australia, November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo/File PhotoMarch 20 (Reuters) - Australia's Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (AQZ.AX) said on Monday the country's competition regulator has delayed a review until April 20 of the proposed acquisition of the charter operator by Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX). This marked the fourth delay so far by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) on the carrier's A$610.8 million ($409.97 million) acquisition offer of Alliance Aviation. Last May, Qantas announced plans to buy the remaining 80% stake in Alliance Aviation in an all-stock deal to expand its footprint in the charter business. Under the agreement, Qantas said the number of wet-lease aircraft options available from Alliance Airlines, a unit of Alliance Aviation Services, will be up to 12 additional Embraer E190 aircraft.

☆ Alliance Aviation Services says Australian regulator delays Qantas deal review
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 20 (Reuters) - Australia's Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (AQZ.AX) said on Monday the country's competition regulator had delayed a review of the proposed acquisition of the charter operator by Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX). The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has delayed its decision until April 20, marking the fourth delay so far on the carrier's A$610.8 million ($409.97 million) buy of Alliance Aviation Services. In May last year, Qantas said it would buy the remaining 80% stake in Alliance Aviation Services in an all-stock deal to expand its footprint in the charter business. ACCC and Qantas did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. ($1 = 1.4899 Australian dollars)Reporting by Upasana Singh and Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fitch says APAC banks resilient to risks highlighted by U.S. bank failures
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Ratings agency Fitch said on Thursday that direct exposures to Silicon Valley Bank <SIVB.O> and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) among its portfolio of rated banks in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region appear limited. Weaknesses that led to the failure of the two banks are among the factors already considered in the agency's rating assessments for APAC banks, it said. "We generally view securities portfolio valuation risks as manageable for APAC banks," Fitch said, adding that exposures tend to be the highest in India and Japan. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has sparked a crisis of confidence in the banking sector, leading to a run on deposits at a host of regional banks despite U.S. authorities rolling out emergency measures to shore up confidence. read moreEarlier on Thursday, S&P said the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse may not lead to any rating actions on APAC banks as they are well placed to absorb potential contagion effects.

☆ Amgen to cut 450 jobs in second round of layoffs this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) said on Thursday it would cut 450 jobs, or less than 2% of its workforce, making it the company's second round of layoffs this year amid intensifying pressure on drug prices and high inflation. "We made these changes to realign our expense base in the face of intensifying pressure on drug prices and high levels of inflation," a company spokeswoman said in a statement to Reuters. Layoffs by U.S. companies over January and February this year touched the highest since 2009, a report showed. The biotech company forecasted 2023 revenue in a range of $26 billion to $27.2 billion, while analysts had estimated $27.17 billion. Reporting by Akanksha Khushi and Deena Beasley; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian regulator accepts PayPal unit's undertaking for money laundering laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Australia's financial crime regulator said on Friday it accepted an enforceable undertaking from payments giant PayPal Holdings' (PYPL.O) local unit to ensure its compliance with the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. In 2019, AUSTRAC, which is tasked with ensuring compliance with the laws, had ordered PayPal Australia Pty Ltd to appoint an external auditor to look at fund transfers after the regulator identified concerns with its reporting obligations. "PayPal Australia self-identified a reporting obligation issue to AUSTRAC. We have fully co-operated with AUSTRAC throughout their investigation..." a PayPal Australia spokesperson said. AUSTRAC said in a statement that PayPal has already undertaken significant work, including an independent audit, to ensure its compliance with the anti-money laundering obligations.

☆ First Republic Bank weighing options including sale - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - First Republic Bank (FRC.N) is exploring strategic options including a sale, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Signature Bank faced criminal probe ahead of its collapse - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors were investigating Signature Bank's (SBNY.O) association with crypto clients before regulators suddenly seized the lender last weekend, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The report comes after New York's financial regulator earlier in the day said its decision to close Signature Bank had "nothing to do with crypto", but was spurred by what it called "a significant crisis of confidence in the bank's leadership" after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The SEC, Justice Department and Signature Bank didn't immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. State regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday, the third largest failure in the U.S. banking history, and two days after authorities shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in a collapse that stranded billions in deposits. As of September last year, almost a quarter of Signature Bank's deposits came from the cryptocurrency sector, but the bank announced in December last year that it would shrink its crypto-related deposits by $8 billion.

☆ Crypto group DCG seeks new partners for portfolio firms amid SVB collapse - CoinDesk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) is looking to find new banking partners for portfolio companies following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O), Signature Bank (SBNY.O) and Silvergate (SI.N), CoinDesk reported on Tuesday, citing messages viewed by the outlet. Santander (SAN.MC), HSBC (HSBA.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) are still willing to connect with crypto firms, CoinDesk said, after recent banking failures in the United States left crypto firms and tech startups stranded and hunting for new banking partners. DCG has also reached out to BlackRock (BLK.N), JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N), the report added. Banks may restrict some services for crypto firms, such as brokerage and money market services and the ability to wire money to third parties, according to the messages seen by CoinDesk. Traditional banks may set up banking accounts for crypto firms, but would place restrictions based on the level of crypto exposure, the report added.

☆ Abu Dhabi's G42 acquires $100 mln ByteDance stake at $220 bln valuation - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence firm G42 acquired a $100 million plus stake in Tiktok-parent ByteDance, valuing the company at $220 billion, Bloomberg News reported late on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Reporting by Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ London stocks fall as Prudential drops, spring budget in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Prudential at the bottom of FTSE 100Precious metal miners down over 2%Spring budget in sightFTSE 100 down 1.4%, FTSE 250 off 1.3%March 15 (Reuters) - London stocks fell on Wednesday as Prudential touched the bottom of the FTSE 100 index after its annual results, with investors awaiting the UK spring budget due later in the day. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) was down 1.4% after jumping more than 1% on Tuesday. Prudential (PRU.L) fell 6.3% despite the Asia-focused insurer reporting an 8% jump in full-year year profit. The wider life insurance index (.FTNMX303010) fell 4.2%, hitting a near three-month low. Investors would be keenly awaiting the UK's spring budget, with Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt due to make a budget speech to parliament at around 1230 GMT.

☆ Crypto group DCG looking for new partners following SVB collapse - CoinDesk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Silicon Valley Bank 'conducting business as usual', new CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley Bank's new boss Tim Mayopoulos on Monday told clients that the lender is open and conducting business as usual, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The regulator transferred all deposits of Silicon Valley Bank to this newly created bridge bank and had said all depositors will have access to their money beginning Monday morning. In the letter to clients, Mayopoulos said that the bank will provide more information as soon as it was available. "I look forward to getting to know the clients of Silicon Valley Bank...I also come to this role with experience in these kinds of situations. I was part of the new leadership team that joined Fannie Mae in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008-09, and I served as the CEO of Fannie Mae from 2012-18," Mayopoulos added in the letter.

☆ Circle says $3.3 bln USDC reserves to be fully available on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 12 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency firm Circle said on Sunday all its depositors with the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) will be made whole and the $3.3 billion USDC reserve deposit held at Silicon Valley Bank will be fully available when banks open Monday. Circle said it did not have any Stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) cash reserves at Signature Bank and that the token remained redeemable at 1:1 U.S. dollar peg. Further, the crypto firm announced an automated USDC minting and redemption through Cross River Bank, effective Monday, and said its expanded relationships also include USDC redemptions via BNY Mellon (BK.N). "Circle's USDC operations will open for business, including with new automated settlement via our new partnership with Cross River Bank," Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet. USDC lost its dollar peg and slumped to an all-time low on Saturday before recovering most of its losses when Circle assured investors it would honor the peg despite exposure to failed Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Circle says $3.3 bln USDC reserve to be fully available on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. cryptocurrency firm Circle said on Sunday its $3.3 billion USDC reserve deposit held at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank will be fully available when U.S. banks open Monday. "Circle's USDC operations will open for business, including with new automated settlement via our new partnership with Cross River Bank," Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet. Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Caterpillar union workers vote in favor of six-year labor agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 12 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers (UAW) union said members at four local chapters working at Caterpillar (CAT.N) have voted in favor of a new six-year labor contract with the firm, preventing a strike at the world's largest construction and mining equipment-maker. The contract covers roughly 7,000 union workers at plants in central Illinois and a parts distribution center in York, Pennsylvania. It wasn't immediately clear how many members voted to ratify the contract. Rank and file union workers at the company have expressed anger and frustration over the deal, saying that wage increases weren't commensurate in the face of rising inflation. The UAW's contract ratification with Caterpillar comes just six months ahead of the deadline for the union and the three Detroit automakers concluding new master contracts covering roughly 143,000 workers.

☆ Hyundai Motor's India unit to buy plant from General Motors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The logo of Hyundai Motor Company is pictured at the New York International Auto Show, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew KellyBENGALURU, March 13 (Reuters) - The Indian arm of Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) said on Monday it had signed a term sheet to buy General Motors Co's (GM.N) plant in the western state of Maharashtra. The term sheet covers proposed acquisition of land and buildings, certain machinery and equipment for manufacturing at the plant, Hyundai added in a statement. Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple and Foxconn efforts win labour reforms to advance Indian production plans - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Apple Inc logo is shown outside the company's 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 13, 2016. The legislation led to introduction of laws that now allows 12-hour shifts, as well as night-time work for women, similar to company practices in China, the report said. The report comes a week after the Karnataka government said that Apple Inc's iPhones would soon be assembled in the state and that a total of 300 acres have been set aside for a factory. Apple, Foxconn and the Karnataka government did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Reporting by Akriti Sharma and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian regulator says banks paid $3.10 bln in compensation for wrongly charged fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Australian dollars are seen in an illustration photo February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel MunozMarch 10 (Reuters) - Australia's corporate watchdog said the country's six largest banking services providers have paid or offered A$4.7 billion ($3.10 billion) in compensation to customers who suffered losses for fees charged for services that were not provided. The largest business lender in Australia, NAB, took the lead and coughed up A$1.49 billion in compensation as of the end of 2022, followed by CBA and Westpac coughing up a payout of A$1.13 billion and $1.03 billion, respectively. ASIC said its final update on remediation figures "draws a line" under its eight-year long programme of addressing financial institutions' failure to provide ongoing services to fee-paying customers. ($1 = 1.5177 Australian dollars)Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta explores decentralized social network app for text updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates, a company spokesperson said on Friday, in what could be a direct competitor to billionaire Elon Musk's Twitter Inc."We're exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The report said Meta's new content app would support ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol that powers Twitter-rival Mastodon and other federated apps. Meta's new app would be Instagram-branded and will allow users to register or login through their Instagram credentials, according to the Moneycontrol report. Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's 'Big Four' banks to hike home loan rates to match RBA move
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 9 (Reuters) - Australia's so-called 'Big Four' banks said on Thursday they would pass on the central bank's latest quarter-percentage point interest rate hike in full to their home loan customers. Among the top four lenders, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), and ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) will hike their rates from March 17, while Westpac Banking Corp's (WBC.AX) will hike its rates from March 21, the banks said in separate statements. Interest rates in the country have already gone up by 350 bps since last May, when they were at an all-time low of 0.1%. However, RBA Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank was closer to pausing its aggressive cycle of rate increases as policy was now in restrictive territory, and suggested a halt could come as soon as April. Reporting by Navya Mittal and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's Adani Group pre-pays over $900 mln worth share-backed financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has been looking to ease concerns about its credit profile after a U.S.-based short seller noted high debt and alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, which Adani denied. Promoters of the group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) will release 31 million shares, or a 4% stake, while Adani Ports' (APSE.NS) promoters will release 155 million shares, or an 11.8% stake, the group said in a statement. Promoters of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) will release 1.2% and 4.5% stakes in the respective companies. In a similar move, the group in February pre-paid $1.11 billion. With Tuesday's repayment, the group has so far repaid around $2.02 billion of share-backed financing, it said.

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