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SYDNEY, July 4 (Reuters) - Australia's fourth largest pension fund suspended new work with PwC Australia on Tuesday, the latest in a string of funds to pause work with the accounting firm over a scandal which first surfaced in January over the misuse of government tax plans. The decision by UniSuper, which manages A$115 billion ($77 billion), means five of Australia's largest pension funds, managing a total of some A$865 billion, have paused work with PwC, which says it is a "leading adviser" to the sector. UniSuper said it was concerned by recent events at PwC and the fund had suspended new contracts for the "immediate future". PwC, which was UniSuper's internal auditor according to the fund's 2022 annual report, declined to comment. ($1 = 1.4972 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: UniSuper, Lewis Jackson, Alexander Smith Organizations: SYDNEY, PwC Australia, UniSuper, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: PwC

☆ Nigel Farage says set to lose Coutts account, offered NatWest one instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Nigel Farage, the former Brexit party leader, said on Tuesday that British private bank Coutts had told him it was closing his accounts and had offered him a standard one with its parent group NatWest instead. A NatWest spokesperson declined to comment. The BBC reported earlier on Tuesday that Farage fell below the financial threshold required to hold a Coutts account. Coutts' website advises its clients should be able to borrow or invest at least 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) with the bank or hold 3 million pounds in savings. He said he had been offered a NatWest account on June 29 after he complained publicly about losing his accounts, adding he has been given a postponement of a few weeks before his Coutts accounts are closed.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Coutts, Farage, Iain Withers, Alexander Smith Organizations: NatWest, Reuters, BBC, Thomson

☆ Italy's top insurers, banks strike Eurovita rescue deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, June 30 (Reuters) - Italy's top four insurers and Germany's Allianz (ALVG.DE) have agreed a multi-billion euro rescue deal for Eurovita, industry supervisor IVASS said on Friday after months of work to broker an accord which also involves 25 banks. Earlier this year, Eurovita became the first Italian insurance company to be placed under special administration, after running into trouble due to higher interest rates. Insurers Generali (GASI.MI), Intesa Sanpaolo Vita (PST.MI), Poste Vita (PST.MI), UnipolSAI (US.MI) and Allianz will set up a new company that will take on Eurovita life insurance policies. To prevent the five insurers from being hit by redemptions once the ban is lifted, banks that sold Eurovita the products are participating in the rescue. The lenders will provide financing to repay Eurovita customers who redeem their policies, while holding the underlying bonds to maturity and neutralising any losses.

Persons: IVASS, Eurovita, redemptions, Intesa, Vitale &, Gatti Pavesi Bianchi, Valentina Za, Alvise Armellini, Alexander Smith Organizations: MILAN, Germany's Allianz, Allianz, Banco, Credit Agricole, Thomson Locations: Eurovita

The SEC raised the same concerns with Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) over a recent filing for a spot bitcoin ETF from BlackRock (BLK.N), the person said. According to Cboe's Fidelity bitcoin ETF filing, The company's platform represented roughly half of U.S. dollar-bitcoin trading in May. The recent filings for bitcoin ETFs by BlackRock and Fidelity have sent the price of bitcoin soaring more than 20% since June 15 to one-year highs. "It's not surprising to hear that the SEC is pushing back a little bit," he said of the bitcoin ETF applications. The SEC has rejected dozens of spot bitcoin ETF applications in recent years, including one from Fidelity in January 2022.

Persons: Cboe, Coinbase, Binance, it's, John Reed Stark, bitcoin, Ed Moya, It's, Carolina Mandl, John McCrank, Manya, Michelle Price, Shinjini Ganguli, Alexander Smith, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Fidelity, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Nasdaq, WisdomTree, Coinbase, Cboe, BlackRock, ., Internet, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: BlackRock, Nasdaq, Manhattan, New York, Bengaluru

☆ SEC spells out bitcoin ETF concerns to asset managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The SEC has communicated its concerns to the exchanges Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) and Cboe Global Markets (CBOE.Z) which filed the applications on behalf of asset managers including BlackRock (BLK.N) and Fidelity, the source added on Friday. Bitcoin , which has jumped since BlackRock filed its application on June 15, fell after the Wall Street Journal first reported the SEC rejection on Friday. The SEC, Fidelity, BlackRock and Nasdaq declined to comment on the report, while Cboe was not immediately available. The SEC has rejected dozens of spot bitcoin ETF applications in recent years, including one from Fidelity in January 2022. In a bid to address these concerns, the BlackRock and Fidelity filings proposed a surveillance mechanism aimed at preventing manipulation, but the applicants did not name which bitcoin exchange would be involved.

Persons: Cboe, Carolina Mandl, Manya, Shinjini Ganguli, Michelle Price, Alexander Smith Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Nasdaq, Cboe, BlackRock, Fidelity, Wall Street Journal, Marathon, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: BlackRock, cyptocurrencies, New York, Bengaluru

☆ 'Call of Duty' maker to invest in Barcelona after EU approves Microsoft deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) said its studio that developed "Call of Duty" would set up shop in Barcelona, putting into action its pledge to invest in Europe after Brussels approved Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of the company in May. In contrast, it said it would "meaningfully expand" its investment and workforce in the European Union after the deal received the green light there. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are battling antitrust regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to clinch the deal, the biggest ever in video gaming. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella are due to testify in a court in San Francisco on Wednesday to urge a judge to allow the merger. Microsoft is appealing the British veto with the "aggressive" support of Activision.

Persons: Bobby Kotick, Satya Nadella, Kate Holton, Alexander Smith Organizations: Activision, Digital Legends, Microsoft, European Union, Activision Blizzard, Atlantic, Federal Trade Commission, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Europe, Brussels, U.S, Spanish, Guildford, Warrington, England, European, San Francisco, Britain

☆ European wind developers play down Siemens Gamesa turbine troubles
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UBS analysts said that in a worst-case scenario charges for Siemens Energy could exceed 5 billion euros. Denmark's Orsted said it operates one onshore wind farm with Siemens Energy turbines and that Orsted's portfolio of turbines has "high availability rates, reflecting that wind power has very little down-time." Siemens Gamesa has already told Iberdrola that it would proceed with a retrofit design, the source said, adding no technical issues for the remaining fleet of Siemens Gamesa turbines had been observed. Siemens Energy shares were up 5.7% at 1428 GMT, recovering some losses after analysts said Friday's sell-off was overblown. Siemens Gamesa first disclosed problems around its 5X model in July 2021, flagging higher than expected ramp-up costs.

Persons: Siemens Gamesa, Germany's, Denmark's Orsted, Eolus Vind, Iberdrola, Friday's, Andres Gonzalez, Forrest Crellin, Christoph Steitz, Marek Strzelecki, Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Nora Buli, Pietro Lombardi, Nina Chestney, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith Organizations: Siemens, Siemens Energy, UBS, EDF, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Siemens Gamesa, Poland's PGE, Thomson Locations: Spanish, Copenhagen, Baltica, Baltic, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Oslo, Madrid

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Companies will face more pressure to disclose how climate change affects their business under a new set of G20-backed global rules aimed at helping regulators crack down on greenwashing. The norms published on Monday have been written by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) as trillions of dollars flow into investments that tout their environmental, social and governance credentials. David Harris, head of sustainable finance strategic initiatives at London Stock Exchange Group, said the new norms bring more rigour to sustainability reporting, more aligned with financial reporting. Under the ISSB rules, companies would need to disclosure material emissions, with checks by external auditors. The European Union finalises its own disclosure rules next month and it and the ISSB have sought to make each other's norms "interoperable" to avoid duplication for global companies.

Persons: Emmanuel Faber, Faber, Joanna Penn, Jean, Paul Servais, David Harris, Harris, haven't, Huw Jones, Alexander Smith, Robert Birsel Organizations: International Sustainability, Reuters, Force, London Stock Exchange Group, Union, Thomson Locations: Canada, Britain, Japan, Singapore, Nigeria, Chile, Malaysia, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa

☆ Israel's Ben-Gvir rebukes police over 'collective punishment' of settlers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A Palestinian covers his face during clashes with Israeli troops after Israeli settlers attack Umm Safa village near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 24, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamad TorokmanJERUSALEM, June 25 (Reuters) - Israel's far-right police minister rebuked the force on Sunday for what he called "collective punishment" of Jewish settlers, as cracks widened between the security services and the government over sectarian violence in the occupied West Bank. U.S.-brokered peace talks aimed at founding a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza collapsed in 2014. Ben-Gvir told the police chief that "he opposes any violation of the law" but cannot accept "collective punishment" of settlers, a statement from the minister's party said. Last week he issued a general censure of rioting in the West Bank.

Persons: Mohamad Torokman JERUSALEM, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Police spokespeople, Netanyahu, shied, Israel Katz, Dan Williams, Alexander Smith Organizations: West Bank, REUTERS, National, Police, Reuters, Likud, Likud's Energy, Army Radio, Thomson Locations: Umm Safa, Ramallah, Palestinian, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Israel, Ateret

☆ Swiss National Bank governor flags further rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, June 24 (Reuters) - Swiss National Bank (SNB) Chairman Thomas Jordan flagged further interest rate hikes in an interview aired by Swiss broadcaster SRF on Saturday. Jordan said the SNB's recent interest rate hike was "very likely not quite" enough to get a grip on inflation in Switzerland. The Swiss central bank raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday, pressing ahead with its campaign to dampen stubbornly high inflation and bring it down to below 2%. Jordan also spoke of the recent rescue of Credit Suisse, which was taken over by Swiss rival UBS (UBSG.S) and given access to more than 200 billion Swiss francs ($223 billion) in financial guarantees. Switzerland's finance minister said on June 1 that Credit Suisse had repaid the liquidity backed by the Swiss government.

Persons: Thomas Jordan, SRF, Jordan, Noele Illien, Alexander Smith Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Credit Suisse, Swiss, UBS, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss, Switzerland

☆ Erdogan urges Putin to act with common sense
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, June 24 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday and urged him to act with common sense, the Turkish presidency said, after Russian mercenary fighters began an armed mutiny overnight. Erdogan was among the first leaders to hold a phone call with Putin after his speech on Saturday. The Turkish presidency said the two discussed recent developments in Russia and Erdogan told Putin that Turkey was ready to do its part to help bring about a peaceful resolution. The Kremlin said in a separate statement that Erdogan had backed the Russian government's handling of the mutiny during the conversation with Putin. Erdogan has sought to maintain strong ties with both Moscow and Kyiv since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Wagner, Erdogan, Huseyin Hayatsever, Hugh Lawson, Alexander Smith Organizations: Saturday, NATO, Thomson Locations: ANKARA, Russian, Russia, Turkey, Moscow, Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Rebel Russian mercenaries halt advance on Moscow, Kremlin says fighters to face no action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

On Saturday night, they began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, a Reuters witness said. EX-CONVICTS IN WAGNER RANKSThe fighters led by Prigozhin, a former convict, include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails. Residents of the city had milled about calmly, filming on mobile phones as Wagner fighters in armoured vehicles and battle tanks took up positions. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said an offensive was launched near a group of villages ringing Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting. Tarnavskiy said the area had been under Russian control since separatist forces backed by Moscow seized it in 2014.

Persons: Prigozhin, Belarus Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Wagner, Dmitry Peskov, Alexander Lukashenko, Peskov, Lukashenko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Mark Milley, Hanna Maliar, Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, Tarnavskiy, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey, Peter Graff, Frank Jack Daniel, Giles Elgood, Frances Kerry, Alexander Smith, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Kremlin, Reuters, Belarus, Defence Ministry, Russia's Southern Military District, Residents, Deputy, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Rostov, ROSTOV, VORONEZH, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Bakhmut, France, Germany, Britain, East, UKRAINE, Krasnohorivka, Donetsk

☆ Binance ordered to stop all digital currency services in Belgium
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Sudip Kar-Gupta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, June 23 (Reuters) - Belgium's FSMA regulator on Friday ordered Binance to cease offering any virtual currency services in the country, adding to pressure on the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange. "Binance is offering and providing exchange services in Belgium between virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services, from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area," the FSMA said. "The FSMA has therefore ordered Binance to cease, with immediate effect, offering or providing any and all such services in Belgium," it added in a statement. Earlier this month, Binance and Binance.US entered an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure U.S. customer assets remain in the United States until a sweeping lawsuit filed this month by the SEC is resolved. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Louise Heavens and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Binance.US, Sudip Kar, Louise Heavens, Alexander Smith Organizations: European Economic, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Shanghai, Belgium, United States, France

Byju's leadership is in talks with the investors to try to convince them to reverse their decision, the three sources, who declined to be named as the talks are private, told Reuters. Its rise was seen as a boost for India's startup scene as investors including General Atlantic made big bets on Byju's. Two of the sources said the investors took the decision collectively to resign from the board as they were not getting answers from Byju's founder and senior management. The departures mean Byju's board is now only made up of its founder and chief executive Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Raveendran. While the investors are holding talks with Byju's, it has not yet been decided whether or not their decision to resign would change, one of the sources added.

Persons: Chan Zuckerberg, Byju's, Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath, Riju Raveendran, Aditya Kalra, Alexander Smith Organizations: Peak XV Partners, Sequoia Capital, Deloitte, Reuters, Byju's, General Atlantic, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Sequoia Capital India, U.S

☆ German unions criticise possible Deutsche Bank job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) reported plans for possible job cuts at its German retail operations were roundly criticised by a union on Friday, foreshadowing tough labour negotiations ahead. "One can only shake one's head at Deutsche Bank, once again," Stephan Szukalski, chairman of the DBV bank union, said as Claudio de Sanctis prepares to take over as head of the German retail business on July 1. Reuters GraphicsDeutsche Bank declined to comment on any job cut plans or the union reaction to reports of them. The reduction in retail jobs is in the planning phase and still subject to discussions with unions and worker representatives, Reuters has reported. Deutsche Bank has in the past announced job cuts that never materialized.

Persons: Stephan Szukalski, Claudio de Sanctis, Szukalski, Verdi, Tom Sims, Friederike Heine, Alexander Smith Organizations: Deutsche, Deutsche Bank, Reuters Graphics Deutsche Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany's

☆ Sterling volatile, Norwegian crown surges and Swiss franc falls on rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 to raise its main interest rate to 5% from 4.5%, its highest since 2008 and its largest rate increase since February. SWISS FRANCThe Swiss franc fell after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) hiked its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.75%, defying some market expectations of a bigger increase. However, economists polled by Reuters had expected the SNB to hike rates by 25 bps. The Swiss franc fell 0.15% to 0.8942 against the dollar, moving away from a six-week high it touched last week. In an attempt to curb inflation, Norges Bank raised interest rates to 3.75%, sending the crown more than 1% higher both against the euro and dollar.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BoE, Sterling, BOE, Paul Oberschneider, Alex Livingstone, Thomas Jordan, Thomas Gitzel, POWELL, Jerome Powell, Joice Alves, Alexander Smith, Conor Humphries Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Norges Bank, Swiss, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, MPC, Reuters, Hilltop Credit Partners, Trading, Titan Asset Management, SWISS, ECB, European Central Bank, Fed, Federal, Bank Group, bps, Bank, Capitol, The U.S, Thomson Locations: Norwegian, London, Liechtenstein, NORWEGIAN, The, Asia, Hong Kong, China

☆ Novo Nordisk shares slip on EMA drug safety signal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

reported that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had raised the safety signal, which is a way to monitor potential adverse events from the use of approved drugs. "Novo Nordisk is aware of the signal and the request by EMA and will deliver a thorough assessment of all relevant data to elucidate this topic," Lars Otto Andersen-Lange, media relations director at Novo Nordisk, told Reuters. report referred to a May 8 statement from EMA, which raised a thyroid cancer safety signal for several drugs in the GLP-1 class, including semaglutide. But a "causal association" between semaglutide and thyroid cancer had not been demonstrated in large-scale clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance, he said. EMA's safety signal had also included GLP-1 drugs from competitors Eli Lilly (LLY.N), Astrazeneca (AZN.L) and Sanofi (SASY.PA).

Persons: Lars Otto Andersen, Lange, Andersen, " Andersen, Eli Lilly, Soren Lontoft Hansen, Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Maggie Fick, Alexander Smith Organizations: Novo Nordisk, European Medicines Agency, EMA, Nordisk, Reuters, Astrazeneca, Sanofi, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Novo, Denmark's Novo, Copenhagen

☆ Novo Nordisk says EMA raised safety signal on drugs, shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Nikolaj Skydsgaard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) raised the safety signal, which is a way to monitor potential adverse events from the use of approved drugs. "Novo Nordisk is aware of the signal and the request by EMA and will deliver a thorough assessment of all relevant data to elucidate this topic," Lars Otto Andersen-Lange, media relations director at Novo Nordisk, told Reuters. reported the EMA safety signal. report referred to a May 8 statement from EMA, which raised a thyroid cancer safety signal for several drugs in the GLP-1 class, including semaglutide. EMA's safety signal also included GLP-1 drugs from competitors Eli Lilly (LLY.N), Astrazeneca (AZN.L) and Sanofi (SASY.PA).

Persons: Eli Lilly, Ozempic, Lars Otto Andersen, Lange, Andersen, " Andersen, Soren Lontoft Hansen, semaglutide, Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Maggie Fick, Alexander Smith Organizations: Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, European Medicines Agency, EMA, Nordisk, Reuters, Astrazeneca, FDA, Thomson Locations: Astrazeneca, COPENHAGEN, Denmark's Novo, Copenhagen

☆ Ford-SK venture to get $9.2 billion US loan for battery plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department plans to lend up to $9.2 billion to a joint venture of Ford Motor (F.N) and South Korea's SK On to help it build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. The conditional commitment for the low-cost government loan for the BlueOval SK joint venture comes from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. The joint venture is building three battery manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee capable of collectively producing more than 120 gigawatt hours annually, the Energy Department said. This is the sixth loan for battery supply chain projects from the ATVM program. Last year, the department awarded a joint venture of General Motors (GM.N) and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) $2.5 billion to help finance construction of new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities.

Persons: Jigar Shah, Dave Webb, Robert Rhee, Ford, Jim Farley, Tesla, David Shepardson, Toby Chopra, David Evans, Alexander Smith Organizations: U.S . Energy Department, Ford Motor, Korea's SK, BlueOval SK, Technology Vehicles Manufacturing, SK, South Korea's SK Innovation, Energy Department, Energy, Ford, Lincoln, Republican, Republicans, Biden, General Motors, LG Energy, Ultium Cells, Thomson Locations: Tennessee, Kentucky, South, United States, KS, Ohio , Tennessee, Michigan, Fremont , California

Can that real wage growth persist if the jobs market now loosens with a lag from the swingeing five percentage points of rate hikes in just 15 months? What's more, other surveys have yet to show inflation expectations falling so sharply or lifting confidence. The possibility of a disinflation spur to demand at this juncture may complicate that picture considerably. Importantly, the slower fall in inflation in both Britain and the euro zone means real wage growth remains negative - unlike the latest twist stateside. Bank of America chart on investor survey growth outlookReuters GraphicsThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reutersby Mike Dolan, Twitter: @reutersMikeD.

Persons: it's, Goldman Sachs, Dom Wilson, Mike Dolan, Alexander Smith Organizations: University of, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of America, Bank of, UBS Global Wealth Management, Fed, Reuters, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Michigan, Europe, Britain

☆ Colombia senate votes down recreational marijuana bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People demonstrate in front of the Colombian Congress, in favor of the regulation of marijuana for adult use in Bogota, Colombia June 20, 2023. Uruguay, Canada and some states in the U.S. allow the sale of recreational marijuana. Backers including Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco said recreational marijuana's continued illegality only benefits criminals. "From the government we will insist on this issue," Velasco said in quotes shared by the Senate on Twitter. We have majorities, we lacked seven votes," he tweeted after the vote on the bill, which needed 54 votes in favor and won 47, with 43 against.

Persons: Luisa Gonzalez BOGOTA, Gustavo Petro, Luis Fernando Velasco, Velasco, Juan Carlos Losada, Oliver Griffin, Carlos Vargas, Julia Symmes Cobb, Alexander Smith Organizations: Colombian, REUTERS, Colombia's, Senate, Twitter, Liberal Party, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Uruguay, Canada, U.S

☆ Exclusive: Tesla standard: BTC Power joins move to add to EV chargers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Abhirup Roy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO, June 20 (Reuters) - BTC Power will add Tesla's (TSLA.O) standard to its electric vehicle chargers next year, its chief executive told Reuters on Tuesday, days after Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) sent shockwaves through the industry by adopting the technology. Privately-owned BTC, a supplier to 7-Eleven and fleet operators, is the fourth major fast charger maker to embrace Tesla's standard, following ABB E-mobility North America (ABBN.S), Tritium DCFC (DCFC.O), and SK Signet (260870.KN). "By including the NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector to our chargers we can eliminate the need for unreliable and unpredictable adapters that are being utilized by drivers using our equipment," BTC CEO Frank Meza said. Reuters first reported on Tuesday that electric pickup maker Rivian (RIVN.O) would adopt Tesla's charging standard. Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Henderson and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Frank Meza, Elon Musk's, Biden, Rivian, Abhirup Roy, Peter Henderson, Alexander Smith Organizations: FRANCISCO, BTC, Reuters, Ford, General Motors, ABB, America, SK Signet, EV, Detroit automakers, Tesla, Thomson Locations: Santa Ana , California, America, San Francisco

June 20 (Reuters) - Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) on Tuesday said it had sued some medical spas and wellness clinics in the United States for selling products claiming to contain semaglutide, the key ingredient in its popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs. The Danish drugmaker said it had filed federal court lawsuits in states including New York, Florida, Tennessee and Texas, accusing the spas of selling unapproved variations of its drugs. Novo Nordisk asked the courts for orders blocking the sales of the unauthorized drugs and an unspecified amount of money damages. Four of the companies named in the lawsuits in Florida, Texas and Tennessee did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Blake Brittain; Editing by Ed Osmond and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Eli Lilly, Danish drugmaker, Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Blake Brittain, Ed Osmond, Alexander Smith Organizations: Novo Nordisk, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Barclays, Nordisk, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Danish, New York , Florida , Tennessee, Texas, Florida , Texas, Tennessee

Equities trading was choppy on Wednesday after the Fed signaled it could follow its June pause with two more rate increases this year. But by Thursday afternoon the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq had rallied to 14-month highs on upbeat economic data. Higher jobless claims helped fuel bets that the Fed would not follow through with more rate hikes. "It's almost like a sweet spot," Tunkel said, also pointing to Chinese data boosting energy stocks and oil prices. Gold prices rose from a three-month low as the dollar and bond yields fell after U.S. economic data, although worries over more Fed rate hikes capped gains.

Persons: Irene Tunkel, Tunkel, Brendan McDermid, Sterling, Brent, Sinéad Carew, Marc Jones, Tom Westbrook, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith, Richard Chang Organizations: LONDON, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, BCA Research, Dow Jones, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York City, China, New York, London, Singapore

STOCKHOLM, June 15 (Reuters) - H&M (HMb.ST) reported weaker than expected second quarter sales on Thursday as chilly weather held back demand in key markets, although the Swedish clothes group said June had started well and its shares rose by 3% in early trading. "Sales in the second quarter were affected by unfavourable weather conditions compared to the corresponding period last year on several of the H&M group's large markets" H&M said. Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), whose largest market is warmer Spain, has a smaller share of sales in northern Europe and the U.S. and is also less affected by weather swings. Inditex, which has coped better than H&M in sluggish markets, last week said net sales in its quarter through April were up 13% and, in May, up 16%. H&M, whose single-biggest market is Germany, is due to publish its full quarterly earnings report on June 29.

Persons: Jefferies, Inditex, Richard Chamberlain, Marie Mannes, Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik, Alexander Smith Organizations: Reuters, Royal Bank of Canada, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Europe, Zara, Spain, U.S, Germany

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