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WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans on Thursday stepped up their probes of Democratic President Joe Biden's family and what they allege is partisan bias in federal law enforcement, in moves that the White House dismissed as politically motivated attacks. The Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, James Comer, on Thursday asked Biden's son and brother for documents related to the family's international business dealings. The White House in a memo distributed to allies and seen by Reuters dismissed the hearing as a "political stunt." "Instead of working with President Biden to address the top priorities of the American people - fighting inflation and lowering costs, creating jobs, boosting manufacturing and infrastructure, and protecting and expanding people's health care and rights – this is what House Republicans are focused on," wrote Ian Sims, the White House spokesman on oversight. Reporting by David Morgan and Gram Slattery; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. composer Burt Bacharach dies at age 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Bacharach and David had 30 Top-40 hits in the '60s alone. I'd hear his melodies and I'd hear lyrics. I'd hear rhymes, I'd hear thoughts and I'd hear it almost immediately." Bacharach and David scored the Neil Simon Broadway musical "Promises, Promises," which won them two Tonys and a Grammy. While star performers made his songs hits, Bacharach said he also enjoyed performing himself and making a personal connection with smaller audiences.

☆ US officials say getting their hands on China's spy balloon was a 'key' reason for shooting it down near a South Carolina beach
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US officials say balloons have crossed over the US before as part of a wider Chinese surveillance program. The eight-day wait and the sensitivity of those bases have alarmed lawmakers, who called defense officials to Capitol Hill on Thursday to explain their handling of the incident. US sailors recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off of Myrtle Beach on February 5. US sailors recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off of Myrtle Beach on February 5. A Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the South Carolina coast on February 4.

☆ Watch live: Senate holds first hearing on the suspected Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Senate on Thursday is holding its first hearing on the Chinese spy balloon that floated over the United States last week before it was shot down over the weekend. The hearing comes as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard complete a recovery operation of the downed spy balloon roughly six miles off the coast of South Carolina. On Saturday, Biden gave the order to take the 200-foot-tall spy balloon out of the sky. The operation resulted in an F-22 fighter jet shearing a hole in the bottom of the balloon with a sidewinder missile. "In our engagements, we are again hearing from our partners that the world expects China and the United States to manage our relationship responsibly.

☆ Bayer picks outsider Anderson as CEO after investor pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

News of the CEO change sent the German drugs-to-pesticides giant's shares to their highest level in nearly eight months. Shares in Bayer closed up 6% on the news of the new CEO, reaching the top of Frankfurt's blue-chip index and hitting their highest level since June last year. "Bill Anderson's mission is clear: enable Bayer to realize its full potential and create sustainable value for our shareholders, farmers, patients, consumers, employees, and all stakeholders of the company," Winkeljohann added. Sources told Reuters earlier this week that activist investor Jeff Ubben had contacted fellow investors to drum up support for big changes at Bayer, including the swift replacement of Baumann. Reporting by Patricia Weiss, Kirsti Knolle and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Tom Sims and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A new app that lets people create avatars and hang out with friends in virtual bedrooms made its debut 3 weeks ago, and it's already taking Asia by storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Reena Koh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bondee is a new social networking app created by a Singapore-based tech company. Bondee's popularity remained strong against rumors of credit card info leaks. Bondee is a social networking app that allows users to connect with up to 50 of their closest friends in a virtual plaza. In the early days of its release, the app's creators were battling rumors of credit card info leaks. The company has also rejected all claims accusing the company of leaking credit card information, as reported on CNA.

☆ Deutsche Bank Q4 surges in 3rd year of annual profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) fourth-quarter profit surged, exceeding expectations and contributing to a third consecutive year of profit that was helped by higher interest rates and buoyant trading but damped by a slump in dealmaking that has shaken the industry. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.803 billion euros ($1.99 billion) in the three months ending Dec. 31, figures published on Thursday showed. That compares with a profit of 145 million euros a year earlier, and it is better than analyst expectations for a profit of around 951 million euros. ($1 = 0.9074 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

“It was gorgeous, and I was so not expecting it,” said Darion Lowenstein, 41, a video game consultant, who is gay. Though Bill’s role in the game is small, and his mention of being gay brief, it did not go unnoticed by LGBTQ gamers like Bonatsakis. Roughly 10% of gamers are LGBTQ, according to a 2020 survey by Nielsen. And for many of these queer gamers, Durkee said, video games are a lifeline. She said character customization in games such as “The Sims” and “World of Warcraft” can empower queer gamers to express their identity in ways that traditional media cannot.

LONDON/FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Rising borrowing costs are giving a long-awaited lift to Europe's beleaguered banks, but they come with a sting in the tail. Last year central banks ended a decade of rock-bottom interest rates as the U.S. Federal Reserve and then the European Central Bank moved towards tightening. But while rising rates are good news for bank profits, they herald a slowdown in an economy hit by war and runaway prices that squeeze borrowers and could prick pricing bubbles, most notably in property. "On the one hand, interest rates are going up, which is good and helps banks," said Jerome Legras of Axiom Alternative Investments. Germany's financial regulator BaFin recently warned that a rapid rise in interest rates could weigh on some banks, and that loans may sour.

☆ Perella Weinberg puts employee in insider trading probe on leave -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The advisory firm Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP.O) has placed an employee who is being investigated as part of an insider trading probe in Germany on leave, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. On Thursday, German authorities said they were investigating five suspects, including one who was in custody, for allegedly profiting on upcoming M&A transactions between 2017 and 2021. Perella said in a statement: "The firm is assisting in an investigation by German law enforcement authorities. The firm is not the subject of the investigation, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the firm." The Perella employee is based in London, the two people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

☆ British motor insurer Direct Line's CEO Penny James steps down
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Direct Line Insurance Group's (DLGD.L) chief executive of nearly four years, Penny James, will step down with immediate effect after the British motor and home insurer faced "significant headwinds" in recent months, the company said on Friday. James, who joined Direct Line as finance chief in late 2017, took over as CEO in May 2019 and steered the company through the COVID-19 pandemic, when motor insurers performed well as restrictions limited the number of drivers on the road, leading to fewer accidents. The appointment of a new CEO will allow the company to "reset and rebuild" after a "tumultuous time", JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note. The company appointed Chief Commercial Officer Jon Greenwood as acting CEO, with Chair Danuta Gray saying Greenwood would focus on driving performance and restoring the balance sheet. Spells of extreme weather in Britain over the past year have also led to more claims for subsidence and burst pipes.

☆ Race against the clock for Germany's top Nazi hunter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Tilman Blasshofer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Nazi hunter Thomas Will, head of Germany's main agency responsible for the investigation of war crimes during Nazi rule looks into files at the Central Office of State Judicial Authorities for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg, Germany, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Timm ReichertLUDWIGSBURG, Germany, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Germany's top Nazi hunter, Thomas Will, is hopeful of securing further convictions over the Holocaust even as the remaining suspects, many now in their late 90s, die. So as long as perpetrators are still alive, we will pursue the cases," he said from his office outside Stuttgart in southwestern Germany. Will heads Germany's Central Office of State Judicial Authorities for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes. The conviction last month of a 97-year-old woman who worked as a concentration camp secretary "was certainly one of the last", Will said.

☆ Germany signals shift in veto on Leopard tanks for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Leopard tanks, which are held by an array of NATO countries but whose transfer to Ukraine requires Berlin's approval, are seen by defence experts as the most suitable for Ukraine. Western allies pledged billions of dollars in weapons for Ukraine last week but they failed to persuade Germany to lift its veto on providing the tanks. French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said he did not rule out the possibility of sending Ukraine Leclerc tanks. Ukraine has never publicly said that the town was taken by Russian forces. On Sunday, the general staff of its armed forces said in a daily update that Russian forces had fired on Ukrainian positions in the area.

☆ Dior dazzles with Josephine Baker-inspired haute couture show in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Models present creations by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri as part of her Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023 collection show for fashion house Dior in Paris, France, January 23, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesPARIS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri paid homage to Josephine Baker with her spring haute couture show on Monday, sending out a dazzling lineup featuring golden jaquards, crushed velvet and beaded fringes that swayed and sparkled down the runway. "She immediately understood the power of fashion," Chiuri said of Baker, the famed French-American jazz singer and dancer. She sought to depict the beauty and confidence of these women, Thomas told Reuters, describing the challenge of whittling the list down to 13. The exhibit, which is set up in a temporary show space at the Rodin Museum in Paris is open to the public through January 29.

☆ Bayer investor criticizes company chair for lack of initiative
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Bayer (BAYGn.DE) investor Union Investment criticized Bayer's chair for a lack of engagement, such as exploring a spin-off of the company's consumer health division, according to an interview in WirtschaftsWoche. Bayer is facing demands from activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners to break up, with a sale of the company's consumer health unit and, at a later stage, for a separation of Bayer's pharmaceuticals and agriculture businesses. Bayer Chair Norbert Winkeljohann "does seek dialogue with investors, but he should have initiated more," Markus Manns, portfolio manager at Union Investment, told WirtschaftsWoche. "It would definitely have been a matter for the supervisory board to help initiate a spin-off of Consumer Health," Manns added. "But generally speaking we are always open to a constructive dialogue with our stakeholders," the spokesperson said.

☆ Wolfspeed plans multi-billion dollar chip factory in Germany, Handelsblatt reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. power chip maker Wolfspeed Inc (WOLF.N) is planning to build a factory in Germany for more than 2 billion euros ($2.17 billion), Handelsblatt reported on Saturday. The German auto supplier ZF will hold a minority stake, the the business newspaper said, citing unidentified sources familiar with the project. Production should begin in four years at the site in the small southwest German state of Saarland, the report added. A spokesperson for the economics ministry of Saarland declined to comment. ZF declined to comment.

☆ Wolfspeed plans multi-billion dollar chip factory in Germany - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Below are answers to the most urgent questions:HOW HAS GERMANY RESPONDED TO THE LOSS OF RUSSIAN GAS? Germany launched a multi-layered strategy to reign in demand and source alternatives following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent decline in gas deliveries. Germany is now getting more pipeline gas from neighbouring Europe and Norway, buying liquefied natural gas (LNG) via existing European terminals, and constructing new LNG terminals on German coastlines, as well as achieving gas savings. Gas stocks are 89% full, enough to get Germany to the end of March even in a prolonged cold spell, according to most recent statistics, before re-filling starts in the April to September storage season. As a rule of thumb, Germany depletes its stocks by a rate of around 1% per day if temperatures fall below zero degrees, the regulator has said.

☆ Santander lagging behind on inflation payment for German bank staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) is the only major bank operating in Germany that has not announced a special payment to local staff to help them with soaring inflation, union officials told Reuters, although the bank said talks were ongoing. Last year, German union Verdi called on banks to give some of their lowest-earning workers a special payment to help them combat higher energy prices. "Santander is the big exception among public and private banks," said Stefan Wittmann, a Verdi official negotiating on behalf of Santander employees. On Friday, Santander and union officials agreed to take up the issue at a meeting next week, but Santander hasn't made a binding offer, Wittmann said. Santander said it was in talks with Verdi on amending its collective wage agreement, and the inflation demands came up in talks late last year.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment. The person did not give details of the size of the overall bonus pool for the whole of Deutsche Bank, which also includes retail, corporate and asset management divisions. Deutche's investment bank is expected to report 3.7 billion euros in pretax profit for 2022, roughly flat versus 2021, based on a consensus forecast of analysts. Reuters GraphicsDeutsche has been heavily reliant on its volatile investment bank for its return to profitability, but is hoping to depend instead on more stable businesses that serve companies and retail customers. The Financial Times first reported the Deutsche investment bank bonus decline.

☆ Germany's Commerzbank sues EY for Wirecard losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File PhotoFRANKFURT, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The German lender Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) is suing accounting firm EY over the 200 million euros ($216.12 million) in losses that it incurred in the collapse of Wirecard, a bank spokesperson said on Thursday. EY was for years the firm that audited and certified Wirecard's books even as journalists and investors raised questions about its finances. The Commerzbank spokesperson said the case had been filed in Frankfurt court in recent weeks. An EY spokesperson said "claims against EY for damages do not hold up".

8 p.m. Slurp up H-town’s cultural melting potThe city is known for its sprawl, which can be admittedly annoying. That is, until you exit the freeway and discover a completely new world like Chinatown, in Houston’s southwest. There, you can visit Crawfish and Noodles , the chef Trong Nguyen’s hot spot specializing in Viet-Cajun food , a cuisine that’s become a local staple. Houston has the largest Vietnamese-American population outside of California, many of whom migrated from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Here, unlike traditional Louisiana crawfish boils, the bugs are seasoned after they're taken out of the water: lemongrass, ginger and fish sauce meet cayenne, paprika and black pepper in a pool of garlic and butter.

☆ Berlin will allow exports of German tanks to Ukraine if U.S. sends its tanks -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Germany will allow German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help its defense against Russia if the United States agrees to send its own tanks, a German government source told Reuters. Western allies will meet at a U.S. air base in Germany on Friday to offer more weapons for Ukraine. Poland and Finland have already said they will send Leopard tanks if Germany approves them. The United States has committed roughly $24 billion to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian forces. The Wall Street Journal, citing senior German officials, first reported Berlin's condition on tanks earlier on Wednesday.

☆ German online bank N26 to expand crypto trading
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 17 (Reuters) - German online bank N26 said on Tuesday that it would expand the list of countries where its customers may trade cryptocurrencies to include those in Germany and Switzerland. In addition, N26 said it would provide the service for customers in Belgium, Portugal and Ireland. Last year, N26 began offering crypto trading for some customers in Austria only, in its first foray into the asset class. N26 said it would roll out the expanded trading gradually over the coming weeks. Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BERLIN, Jan 10 (Reuters) - German carmakers, Tesla, chip producers and battery maker Northvolt met the German chancellor and cabinet ministers on Tuesday to discuss topics from European law on vehicle emissions to energy prices, according to two participants. The annual summit was formerly only for carmakers but was this time dubbed a "mobility" summit, with the broader focus signalled by Northvolt's presence on the guestlist for the first time. Tesla (TSLA.O), was not on the first draft of the guest list shared with participants but was present, according to a participant, alongside German carmakers Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE), Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) and Opel. Associations, including cyclist club ADFC and rail association "Allianz pro Schiene", criticised the summit as still too car-focused. German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck, Transport Minister Volker Wissing and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil were among those present from the government, the other participant said.

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