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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

REUTERS/John Sibley/File PhotoLONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Odey Asset Management is in advanced talks to move funds and staff to other asset managers as it grapples with the fallout of sexual misconduct allegations against its founder Crispin Odey. A spokesperson for the hedge fund declined further comment on Thursday. Hedge funds such as OAM rely on leverage from prime brokerage service providers to make their market bets. Without a prime broker, a hedge fund which needs to borrow stocks cannot function. A spokesperson for OAM also declined to comment on whether the moves signalled that the hedge fund would close.

Persons: Crispin Odey, John Sibley, Odey, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, James Hanbury, Harriett Baldwin, Nell Mackenzie, Sinead Cruise, Dhara Ranasignhe, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Odey, Management, Financial Times, Tortoise Media, Reuters, UBS, Authority, Asset Management, FCA, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Westminster, London, Britain

☆ Delta Air Lines resumes dividend suspended in 2020 during pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) said on Thursday it would pay a quarterly dividend, resuming a payout that the carrier had suspended in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In December, Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) became the first major U.S. airline to reinstate its quarterly dividend, more than two years after suspending it in the wake of the pandemic. The move comes as Delta forecast that strong summer travel demand will result in higher-than-expected profit for the quarter through June. Delta Air Lines received $11.9 billion in U.S. assistance. In March 2020, Delta paid a $0.4025 share dividend, which was its 27th consecutive dividend at the time.

Persons: Aishwarya Nair, David Shepardson, Savio D'Souza, Alexander Smith Organizations: Delta Air Lines, U.S, Southwest Airlines, Delta, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Washington

☆ Factbox: Who are Crispin Odey and hedge fund Odey Asset Management?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here are some key facts about Odey, London-based OAM, the allegations, and their fallout:WHO ARE CRISPIN ODEY AND ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT? Odey, 64, founded the asset management firm which bears his name in 1991. HOW BIG IS ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT? Schroders and Canada Life last week moved to cut back their dealings with asset management businesses with links to Odey. It is looking increasingly unlikely, even though larger funds such as Odey Asset Management Group are made up of many funds with different trading strategies.

Persons: Crispin Odey, OAM, Odey, CRISPIN ODEY, Kwasi Kwarteng, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, James Hanbury, Hanbury, Peter Martin, Carolina Mandl, Nell Mackenzie, Elisa Martinuzzi, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alexander Smith Organizations: Odey, Management, Reuters, Financial Times, WHO, Asset Management, Conservative Party, Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial, Authority, Lawmakers, JPMorgan, UBS, CAN, Odey Asset Management, Inc, Carolina, Thomson Locations: London, Schroders, New York

The group will study this expression of interest and keep the market informed," Casino said in a statement on Wednesday. And the holding company through which Naouri controls Casino is also heavily indebted. Niel, Pigasse and Zouari said they would invest 200 million to 300 million euros themselves, with the rest coming from unspecified partners, including Casino creditors. The trio's proposal comes after Kretinsky, Casino's second-largest shareholder, offered in April to take control of the group through a 1.1 billion euro capital increase. A Casino spokesperson declined to comment beyond its statement on Wednesday or on behalf of Naouri.

Persons: Jean, Charles Naouri, Xavier Niel, Daniel Kretinsky, Casino, Kretinsky, Niel, Matthieu Pigasse, Moez, Alexandre Zouari, Clement Genelot, Garnier, Pigasse, Zouari, Casino's, Mathieu Rosemain, Chiara Elisei, Laura Lenkiewicz, Sudip Kar, Silvia Aloisi, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith Organizations: Casino, Monoprix, BNP, Credit Agricole, Carrefour, Reuters, France's, Naouri, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Czech, Natixis, Casino

The plan is the linchpin of Sawan's effort to boost Shell's share performance relative to its U.S. peers, which has suffered despite a record $40 billion profit last year. Its shares closed up 0.4%, against a flat index of European oil and gas companies (.SXEP) on Wednesday. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsOIL STEADYShell scrapped its previous target to cut oil output by 20% by 2030 after largely reaching the goal. It currently has a target to cut its 2030 emissions intensity, including from the combustion of the fuels it sells, by 20%. Shell also faces a Dutch court ruling ordering the company to drastically cut emissions.

Persons: Wael Sawan, Sawan, Biraj Borkhataria, Thilo, Shell, Bernard Looney, Ron Bousso, Jan Harvey, Alexander Smith, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Shell, British, RBC, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Royal, REUTERS, BP, Lebanese, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York, Wesseling, Cologne, Germany, Bukom, Jurong, Singapore, Paris

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) agreed to pay about $290 million to settle a class action lawsuit by Jeffrey Epstein's victims, resolving a large part of litigation over the bank's relationship with the disgraced financier. Monday's settlement came 3-1/2 weeks after Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), where Epstein was a client from 2013 to 2018, agreed to pay $75 million to end a similar lawsuit by Epstein victims. "A settlement with Epstein's victims frees JPMorgan to begin to turn the page and change the narrative." The $290 million settlement amount was confirmed by David Boies, a lawyer for Epstein's victims. Last month, Rakoff said JPMorgan could be liable to Epstein's victims if they could show Staley had firsthand knowledge that Epstein ran a sex-trafficking venture.

Persons: JPMorgan Chase, JPM.N, Jeffrey Epstein's, Epstein, Jane Doe, Carliss Chatman, Chase, Temin, Jed Rakoff, JPMorgan, Adam Zimmerman, David Boies, Sigrid McCawley, Morgan Chase, Mike Segar JPMorgan, Jes Staley, shepherding, Staley, Rakoff, Jamie Dimon, Ghislaine Maxwell, Maxwell, Chatman, Mary Erdoes, Stephen Cutler, Dimon, Cutler, Jeffrey Epstein, Erdoes, Nupur Anand, Lananh Nguyen, Saeed Azhar, Luc Cohen, Jonathan Stempel, Tatiana Bautzer, Megan Davies, Alexander Smith, Grant McCool, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: YORK, JPMorgan, Washington, Lee University School of Law, U.S, Deutsche Bank, University of Southern, Co, New York City, REUTERS, U.S ., Barclays, U.S . Virgin, Thomson Locations: U.S, Manhattan, Virginia, University of Southern California, New York, U.S . Virgin Islands

☆ Novartis buys Chinook for $3.5 bln in race to treat rare kidney disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

June 12 (Reuters) - Novartis (NOVN.S) said it has agreed to acquire U.S. biotech firm Chinook Therapeutics (KDNY.O) for up to $3.5 billion to boost its late-stage drug development line-up, raising the stakes in the race for a rare kidney disease treatment. The other drug hopeful is iptacopan, which is being trialled against a number of rare genetic disorders, including IgAN and another kidney disease. IgAN is a progressive autoimmune disease that mostly affects young adults and which can lead to kidney failure that requires dialysis or organ transplantation. IgAN is the most common cause of kidney failure in Caucasian young adults, Novartis added. Additional reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Kim Coghill, Sonali Paul and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Novartis, Vas Narasimhan, Narasimham, atrasentan, Narasimhan, Kisqali, Roche, Vera, Muddy Waters, Miranda Murray, Kim Coghill, Sonali Paul, Alexander Smith Organizations: Novartis, Chinook Therapeutics, Vera Therapeutics, Sandoz, Chinook, Thomson Locations: Seattle, United States

Hedge funds and other money managers purchased the equivalent of 28 million barrels in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts over the seven days ending on June 6. Funds bought Brent (+22 million barrels), U.S. diesel (+7 million) and European gas oil (+4 million) but sold NYMEX and ICE WTI (-2 million) and U.S. gasoline (-3 million). Portfolio investors are especially bearish about crude, with a net position of 269 million barrels (7th percentile) and a long-short ratio of 2.39:1 (14th percentile). The hedge fund community has become especially bearish about the outlook for European gas oil given indications the region is already in recession. Funds were net short by 12 million barrels (3rd percentile) with a long-short ratio of 0.73:1 (2nd percentile).

Persons: Saudi Arabia’s, WTI, ”, John Kemp, Alexander Smith Organizations: Investors, Funds, U.S ., ICE, Bloomberg, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Saudi, China, U.S, Riyadh, OPEC, Freeport

MILAN/BRUSSELS, June 12 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators who raided Kering's (PRTP.PA) Gucci and other fashion firms in April are looking into how they set prices of handbags and leather goods for distributors, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Kering confirmed at the time that Gucci was cooperating with the EU regulators after Reuters previously reported the European Union dawn raid on its site in Milan, which makes such products. The Commission, which did not name the companies it raided, said at the time that they may have breached EU antitrust rules against cartels and restrictive business practices, but did not provide details. Such practices are illegal under EU antitrust rules and breaches can lead to fines up to 10% of a company's global turnover. U.S. clothing company Guess (GES.N) was hit with a 40 million euro ($43 million) fine in 2018 for preventing retailers from setting the retail price of its products independently.

Persons: Gucci, Kering, Foo Yun Chee, Emilio Parodi, Silvia Aloisi, Alexander Smith Organizations: MILAN, Reuters, European, EU, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Kering's, Milan, Paris

THE SWISS BANKPossibly the first hurdle is a politically fraught decision on Credit Suisse's "crown jewel", its domestic business. But UBS will have to weigh that against public pressure to keep the Credit Suisse business separate with its own brand, identity and, critically, workforce. However, insiders talk of rivals aggressively wooing Credit Suisse clients and employees. Clients who would typically bank both with UBS and Credit Suisse to spread their risk, might now take some of that business elsewhere. One potential risk stems from legal challenges to the decision by Swiss authorities to write off special AT1 bonds issued by Credit Suisse.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Ermotti, Colm Kelleher, Alan Mudie, Arturo Bris, Kelleher, Lars Schweizer, John Revill, Oliver Hirt, Noele Illien, Tomasz Janowski, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, Suisse, Woodman Asset Management, Finance, International Institute for Management Development, Reuters Graphics, Credit, Frankfurt University, Barclays, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Switzerland, Swiss, Lausanne

☆ Citi CEO commits to China expansion, Beijing says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The CEO also held meetings with Citi staff and clients, which include some of the largest U.S. multinational companies with presence in China, a Citi spokesperson said. Fraser's first trip to China since taking up the CEO role in March 2021 follows a visits by JPMorgan's chief Jamie Dimon last week and by other global financial executives in March. Sequoia said on Tuesday it plans to spin off its Chinese business as part of wider changes at the U.S. venture capital giant. Li told Fraser that China will open up its financial sector further. Citi is in the process of getting approval to set up a securities brokerage in China, having submitted its application in late 2021.

Persons: Jane Fraser, Fraser, Li Yunze, Li, NFRA, Fraser's, Jamie Dimon, Sequoia, Selena Li, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Navaratnam, Alexander Smith Organizations: National Financial Regulatory Administration, Citi, U.S, United States . International, Beijing, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, BEIJING, U.S, Beijing, China, United States, China's, Hong Kong

LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) is studying options for its global payments activities as a part of broader review into how it allocates resources, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Barclays has already engaged at least one major consultancy firm and may hire others to split assignments, this person said. "Our three businesses continue to perform well and our business mix is robust - growing our global payments business is a priority for us," a Barclays spokesperson said. The payments study comes as Barclays had also drafted Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to conduct a strategy review of the entire banking group, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. How the bank should allocate resources between more predictable retail business and volatile returns from the investment bank has attracted investor scrutiny.

Persons: Amy, Jo Crowley, Pablo Mayo, Stefania Spezzati, Lawrence White, Alexander Smith Organizations: Barclays, Reuters, Britain's, Barclaycard, Boston Consulting, Bloomberg, BNP, HSBC, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: London

ISTANBUL, June 6 (Reuters) - Global airlines called on Tuesday for broad co-operation to reach "very tough" emission targets and pledged to release interim climate targets next year as the industry aims for a goal of net-zero by 2050. Airlines are relying for 62% of their emissions reduction target on the fuel, which is currently between two to four times more expensive than kerosene. Walsh said airlines were not afraid to confront the fact that their share of total emissions will rise as other industries with fewer technological hurdles decarbonise. "Different parts of the world are moving at different paces and for us, representing global airlines, we've got to factor all of that into account." One thing airlines agreed on was frustration at aircraft delays, which have disrupted their schedules, with CEOs asking IATA to lobby planemakers.

Persons: Willie Walsh, Walsh, Jo Dardenne, Tim Clark, Clark, we've, Joanna Plucinska, Tim Hepher, Andrew Heavens, Sriraj Kalluvila, Alexander Smith Organizations: Aviation, International Air Transport Association, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, SAF, Transport, Environment, Dubai's Emirates, Reuters, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Istanbul, planemakers, United States, Dubai

☆ Exclusive: China's state banks told to lower cap on dollar deposit rates -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, June 6 (Reuters) - In a rare attempt to bolster China's yuan, a self-regulatory body overseen by the country's central bank has told major state-owned banks to lower dollar deposit interest rates, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The buoyant U.S. currency and the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes have prompted many Chinese companies to hoard dollar receipts. China's central bank said last month it would resolutely curb large fluctuations in the exchange rate and study the strengthening of self-regulation of dollar deposits. China's central bank has so far appeared calm after the yuan breached the psychologically important 7 per dollar level in May. During previous rounds of depreciation, the central bank has sent verbal messages against one-way bets on the yuan.

Persons: Sumeet Chatterjee, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith Organizations: Reuters, People's Bank of China, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, BEIJING, United States, China, Beijing

After receiving $145 million from Binance.US's operator by 2021, Sigma Chain spent $11 million on buying a yacht, the SEC complaint said, without elaborating. It is unclear from the SEC complaint how much money Zhao is alleged to have drawn from Merit Peak and Sigma Chain. The SEC also said Zhao used Merit Peak to direct more than $16 million to fund Binance's purportedly independent U.S. affiliate Binance.US. Binance used its BUSD holdings to meet customer withdrawals by selling them for dollars as needed, Reuters reported in May. The SEC complaint also identified Binance Labs, a venture capital arm of Binance, as part of the exchange's plan to increase demand for BNB.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, Benoit Tessier LONDON, Changpeng Zhao, John Reed Stark, Stark, Binance's, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Lisa Barrington, Hadeel Al, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Binance, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Swiss, Sigma Chain, Reuters, Silicon, Internet, Futures Trading Commission, U.S . Justice, Reuters Graphics, Silvergate Bank, Merit, Sigma, Binance Labs, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, Binance, U.S, Virgin Islands, Dubai, London, Hadeel Al Sayegh

☆ Global equity funds suffer seventh straight week of outflows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 5 (Reuters) - Global equity funds saw a seventh straight week of outflows in the seven days to May 31 on global economic slowdown concerns after weaker readings from China and major European countries. Investors disposed of a net $4.55 billion of global equity funds during the week, Refinitiv Lipper data showed, compared with a weekly withdrawal of about $3.54 billion a week ago. European equity funds saw $3.4 billion worth of net selling, while Asian funds had withdrawals of $820 million with China losing a net $425 million in a third straight week of outflows. During the week, combined inflows into global bond funds were a net $4.04 billion in an eleventh straight week of net purchases. Data for 23,954 emerging market funds showed investors sold a net $454 million worth of equity funds, while withdrawing $355 million from bond funds in a sixth successive week of net selling.

Persons: Gaurav Dogra, Patturaja, Alexander Smith Organizations: Global, Reuters Graphics Reuters, China, Technology, Thomson Locations: China, Germany, Bengaluru

☆ Turkish lira teeters near record low as Erdogan secures victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen next to Turkish lira banknotes in this illustration taken in Istanbul, Turkey November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/IllustrationLONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira wobbled near record lows against the dollar as President Tayyip Erdogan secured victory in the country's presidential election on Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The currency was at 20.05 to the dollar during Asian hours, just shy of the 20.06 record low hit on Friday. "Only the most optimistic would hope that Erdogan now feels sufficiently secure politically to revert to orthodox economic policy." "Erdogan is unlikely to embrace an outright economic orthodox approach," Wolfango Piccoli, co-president at advisory firm Teneo said in emailed comments.

[1/2] Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar gestures during a news conference to announce the economic survey of fiscal year 2016-2017, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal MahmoodISLAMABAD, May 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan will share its upcoming budget details with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to unlock stalled funds, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday. The IMF funding is crucial for the $350 billion South Asian country, which faces an acute balance of payments crisis. The IMF's $1.1 billion funding to Pakistan, which is part of the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility agreed in 2019, has been held up since November. Islamabad hosted the IMF mission in February to negotiate a series of fiscal policy measures to clear the 9th review.

☆ Turkish lira slips as Erdogan claims victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen next to Turkish lira banknotes in this illustration taken in Istanbul, Turkey November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/IllustrationLONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira slipped towards a fresh record low against the dollar as President Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in the country's presidential election on Sunday, a win that would steer his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The currency opened at 20.05 to the dollar as the new trading week got underway, not far off the 20.06 record low hit on Friday. Trading is expected to be thin on Monday, with many markets in Europe, as well as the United States closed for holidays. Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Ezgi Erkoyun, editing by Alexander Smith and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Deutsche swapped billions of euros in securities for cash and government bonds, the sources told Reuters, which count towards its liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). This is meant to determine the extent of a bank's access to ready cash to fund outflows such as depositor withdrawals. The trades caught the attention of European Central Bank (ECB) supervisors, who questioned Germany's largest lender about them during routine exchanges, the sources said. Even without the trades, Deutsche would have far exceeded a 100% LCR regulatory requirement and overshot its own target, the sources said, adding that its liquidity is not a concern. Deutsche's trades helped it raise its LCR to 143% at March 31, its first-quarter earnings report published in April showed.

Within weeks, Della Valle gave them a stark assessment of the problems Vodafone faces. Complicating matters is an investor base with conflicting demands, concerns about Vodafone's dividend outlook and a workforce reeling from the deep job cuts. While many observers in and outside the company had expected a fresh face, Della Valle won over the board. Vodafone's shares are trading at lows last seen in 2002, largely due to a cut to free cash flow forecasts. That may not sit well with Vodafone's other key investors - French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel, who competes with it in Italy, and Liberty Global, its partner in the Netherlands.

"They are very seriously looking at India as a production and innovation base," Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in the first public comment by an Indian government official on the talks. Tesla proposed setting up a factory in India to build electric vehicles (EVs) and is also looking at manufacturing EV batteries, Reuters reported. Asked if talks with Tesla included more than just making vehicles, Chandrasekhar said "you don't talk about cars alone" when such discussions take place. "You talk about cars, you talk about energy, you talk about manufacturing technology. Outside the United States, Tesla has a plant in Shanghai - its largest factory worldwide - and one in Brandenburg, Germany.

☆ Ukrainian firms venture abroad for growth as war hits home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The ongoing conflict has prompted several Ukrainian firms to focus abroad to reduce their reliance on a shrinking home market and to tap into the millions of people who have left. Ukraine, which had a pre-war population of about 40 million, has seen its domestic economy turned upside down, with corporate investments and growth now rare. "Our choice was to go to Poland, mainly because Poland hosts now the highest number of Ukrainians who fled from the war." In September, 8.5% of all companies opened in Poland had Ukrainian capital, compared with 0.8% in January 2022. "The main goal is to grow abroad much faster than we planned for ourselves in the pre-war period," Vovk said.

☆ Analysis: Investment banking faultlines trigger European job shake-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Applications for financial services roles globally rose by 67% in the first quarter of 2023 against the same period last year, according to eFinancialCareers. Britain has already said it will scrap a cap on bank bonuses under plans to attract global financial sector talent. Worries about possible contagion triggered by the frailty of the U.S. regional banking system have also put some bank staff on a quest for more secure employment, sources say. Duncan Finlayson, managing director of the FinTech & Financial Services practice at Raines International, said some wanted meetings with chief financial officers to better understand the financial health of prospective employers. "Without a doubt some of the more established financial services platforms are under more heavy scrutiny," he said.

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