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☆ Pilots at Canada's WestJet Airlines approve possible strike action
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines pilots on Tuesday voted for possible strike action as early as May 16, underscoring broader efforts by North American pilots to make gains on salary and working conditions as traffic rises. Pilots at Onex Corp's (ONEX.TO) WestJet Group, Canada's second-largest carrier, could strike or be locked out if notice is given on May 13, union representative Bernard Lewall said. Participating pilots voted 93% in favor of strike authorization, said Lewall, chair of the local union with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Calgary-based WestJet said the carrier wants an agreement that is competitive within Canada's airline industry. Their union, the Allied Pilots Association, is also holding a strike authorization vote that concludes on April 30.

J&J (JNJ.N) shares fell 2.8% after the healthcare conglomerate cautioned investors over the lingering impact of inflation-driven costs this year. Goldman (GS.N) shares dropped 1.7% after the Wall Street firm's profit fell 19% as dealmaking and bond trading slumped. The early quarterly results from S&P 500 companies come as investors have been bracing for a gloomy reporting season, fearing the economy may be on the cusp of a downturn. S&P 500 company earnings are expected to have declined 4.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data as of Friday. The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 143 new lows.

[1/2] A Bank of America logo is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 30, 2019. The company "had a strong Q1 as higher interest rates continued to boost its net interest margin despite rising deposit costs," David Fanger, senior vice president at Moody's Investors Service, said. Reuters GraphicsEconomists expect the U.S. economy to slow in the second half of the year as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to tame inflation. It expects NII to fall 2% in the second quarter compared with the first three months of this year. The company's revenue, net of interest expense, increased 13% to $26.3 billion, beating estimates of $25.13 billion.

REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp's (NOVN.S) bid to revive a key patent on its blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya that was invalidated amid a legal dispute with China's HEC Pharm Co Ltd (1558.HK). Novartis sued HEC and more than a dozen other generic drugmakers for patent infringement in Delaware federal court after they applied for FDA approval of Gilenya generics. Novartis settled with some of the drugmakers, allowing for some Gilenya generics before a key patent's 2027 expiration. The Supreme Court in October rejected a Novartis emergency bid to pause the decision. HEC responded that the Federal Circuit "followed its own rules," and that "no Federal Circuit judge - including the dissenter - suggested any procedural concern" with the decision.

Wall Street closed lower on Friday after mixed economic data appeared to affirm another Fed interest rate hike in May, dampening investor enthusiasm after a series of big U.S. bank earnings launched the first-quarter reporting season. "Regional bank earnings will come in very slightly positive, while bigger banks will probably post surprisingly positive results." Other major U.S. banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) will report through the week. ET, Dow e-minis were up 35 points, or 0.10%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 3.75 points, or 0.03%. Prometheus Biosciences Inc (RXDX.O) rallied 69.9% after Merck & Co (MRK.N) said it will buy the biotech company for about $10.8 billion.

Wall Street closed lower on Friday after mixed economic data appeared to affirm another Fed rate hike in May, dampening investor enthusiasm after a series of big U.S. bank earnings launched the first-quarter reporting season. Other major U.S. banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) will report through the week. "Regional bank earnings will come in very slightly positive, while bigger banks will probably post surprisingly positive results," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Prometheus Biosciences Inc (RXDX.O) rallied 69.5% on Merck & Co's (MRK.N) plans to buy the biotech company for about $10.8 billion. The S&P index recorded nine new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 55 new lows.

Some are turning to startups who are pivoting to using powerful chips to run quantum-inspired software on regular computers as they bide their time. In the past 18 months, quantum software startups including SandBoxAQ - an Alphabet spinoff - raised about $1 billion, according to data firm PitchBook. Ultimately, the software inspired by quantum physics won't perform well on quantum computers without some changes, said William Hurley, boss of Austin-based quantum software startup Strangeworks. Still, he said companies that start using them will have engineers "learning about quantum and the phenomenon and the process, which will better prepare them to use quantum computers at the point that they do so." Strangeworks, which also operates a cloud with over 60 quantum computers on it, raised $24 million last month from investors including IBM (IBM.N).

☆ How Timberland, Vans, VF Corp. are making sure their cotton isn't 'greenwashed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In this article VFC Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTSmallholder Farmers Alliance purchase of organic cotton from farmer member. But the focus quickly moved to regenerative agriculture, a practice more activist shareholders are pressing with big consumer companies. "Regenerative agriculture is really important to Timberland and VF because it's about restoring the soil," said Atlanta McIlwraith, Timberland's director of social impact and activation. watch nowVF Corp's efforts with regenerative cotton in Haiti come at a time of growing pressure from consumers for companies to adopt more sustainable practices. So, we tackle the problem from its roots, which is environmental degradation in the country," said Timote Georges, executive director and co-founder of Smallholder Farmers Alliance.

That makes the business less than half the size of Bank of America Corp's (BAC.N) Merrill Wealth Management arm, the $18-billion behemoth Sieg ran until he left last month. Another challenge is that Citi has historically been undersized and a bit of a laggard in the space...especially in the wealth business where it’s all about existing relationships." In some ways, Citigroup is playing catchup after selling its old wealth business, Smith Barney, a decade ago to Morgan Stanley, which then leaned heavily into wealth management. That bet paid off - Morgan Stanley's wealth unit, led by Andy Saperstein, brought in record revenue last year. Two years ago, Citigroup unified its various wealth businesses into a single organization led by Jim O'Donnell that included its private bank and personal wealth division.

[1/2] A train loaded with copper cathodes travels along a rail line inside the Chuquicamata copper mine, which is owned by Chile's state-run copper producer Codelco, near Calama city, Chile, April 1, 2011. Lundin last month agreed to pay $950 million for 51% control of the mine, calling the deal "an endorsement that we believe the mining royalty and taxation discussions are trending in the right direction." In the past 18 months, mining giants have been vocal about concerns in Chile. BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX) said it might reevaluate its investments depending on new tax plans by the government, while Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX.N) has said it would pause expansion plans in Chile, citing political uncertainty. Lundin remains confident in the future of the Caserones project, which began operations in 2014 and has annual output of 100,000 tonnes of copper.

☆ Biden admin greenlights LNG exports from Alaska project - document
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Shannon StapletonCompanies Conocophillips FollowWASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday approved exports of liquefied natural gas from the Alaska LNG project, a document showed, as the United States competes with Russia to ship natural gas from the Arctic to Asia. The Alaska LNG project includes a liquefaction facility on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska and a proposed 807-mile (1,300-km) pipeline to move gas stranded in northern Alaska across the state. The Biden administration modified the previous approval to prohibit venting of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide associated with the project into the atmosphere. The Biden administration last month approved the ConocoPhillips (COP.N) $7 billion Willow oil and gas drilling project on Alaska's North Slope. The Biden administration is trying to approve more U.S. LNG exports as it competes with Russia, traditionally one of the world's largest energy exporters.

REUTERS/Anna KudriavtsevaWASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine secured promises of $5 billion in additional funding to support its ongoing fight against Russia amid "fruitful meetings" in Washington this week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told reporters on Friday. Shmyhal met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank as well as top U.S. officials, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank. Ukraine needs about $14 billion in funding this year to close a budget gap, Shmyhal said, noting that the United States would provide $2.3 billion to plug the hole, while the European Union would provide 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion). The IFC program aims to leverage these donor funds using private sector investments, which will be needed to help cover the staggering cost of Ukraine's recovery. "A strong private sector is essential to help Ukraine's economy recover and support reconstruction efforts," said Makhtar Diop, the IFC's managing director.

☆ Exxon CEO's pay rose 52% in 2022, highest among oil peers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oil company workers did not see the same level of increases with median annual compensation for workers declining at several big energy companies. The median pay for an Exxon worker fell 9% last year to $171,582 while Chevron's median worker pay dropped 12%, to $161,488, filings showed. The two largest U.S. oil majors posted record profits in 2022 on high energy prices and costs cuts measures including payroll reductions. Occidental Petroleum's CEO Vicki Hollub's pay rose 35% while ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance's pay fell 16%, all compared to their prior year. Under a new calculation disclosure required by the SEC on potential gains by executives on unvested stock awards, Woods' pay was $89.7 million in 2022, a securities filing showed.

Alibaba, one of the most valuable assets in SoftBank's portfolio, tumbled as much as 5.2% in Hong Kong and closed down about 2%. On Wednesday, the FT said forward sales based on filings at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed SoftBank's Alibaba stake would eventually fall to 3.8% from almost 15%. The Japanese group, led by billionaire founder Masayoshi Son, has sold about $7.2 billion worth of Alibaba shares this year through prepaid forward contracts, the newspaper said. "It is well within the realms of expectations that the proportion of Chinese shares among its total investment will shrink further." In New York, Alibaba's shares were up 3% as analysts noted that the stake sale was more due to SoftBank's circumstances.

[1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden attends the groundbreaking of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility in New Albany, Ohio, U.S., September 9, 2022. But all that new construction has a real estate problem. That would be a problem for the Biden administration, which has pushed through legislation to fuel the developments. A White House official said it was a "high-class problem" to have, adding: "Folks are finding places to build. The governors of South Carolina, Virginia and North Carolina have each proposed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on readying industrial sites in the coming years.

☆ SoftBank to sell nearly all its stake in Alibaba - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] SoftBank Corp's logo is pictured at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, February 4, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonApril 12 (Reuters) - SoftBank has moved to sell almost all of its remaining shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), the Financial Times reported on Wednesday citing regulatory filings it had analyzed. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In its latest Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF said global financial stability risks had increased "rapidly" in the six months since its previous assessment when it was already touting hazards as being "significantly skewed" to the downside. The IMF said the bank failures "have been a powerful reminder" of the challenges wrought by tighter monetary policy - and the more stringent financial conditions it generated - and the buildup in vulnerabilities since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. Problems at U.S. regional banks grew last year, as rapidly rising interest rates slashed the value of some banks' holdings in long-term assets such as home loans and government bonds. Going forward, regional banks could face greater scrutiny with respect to their holdings and funding structures, the IMF cautioned. Even still, authorities should be more prepared to deal with financial instability, the IMF recommended, including by strengthening their bank resolution regimes.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley dismissed the plaintiffs' first complaint in March after finding it failed to present enough information to back claims the acquisition would harm industry competition. The judge said at the time the plaintiffs could refile a new suit, which challenges the largest-ever video game industry deal. Lawyers for Microsoft said in a court filing last week that the gamers' original case "relied largely on flawed legal arguments based on outdated Supreme Court cases." The plaintiffs' lawyers have served subpoenas on companies including Activision and rivals including Nintendo of America Inc and Sony. The case is Demartini v. Microsoft, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 3:22-cv-08991-JSC.

☆ Fox News settles with Venezuelan businessman in election defamation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - Fox News said on Sunday it has reached a settlement with a Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil, ending a defamation case in which Khalil said he was falsely accused on air of helping to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election against Donald Trump. We have no further comment," Fox News said in a statement on Sunday. Lawyers for Fox News and Dobbs referred Reuters to the statement. Jury selection is set to begin on Thursday ahead of a separate trial in Dominion Voting Systems Corp's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp (FOXA.O) over their coverage of debunked election-rigging claims. Reporting by Michael Martina and Jack Queen; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. VP Harris takes Biden's jobs message to Marjorie Taylor Greene's district
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday takes the Biden administration's jobs agenda to a right-wing Georgia congressional district represented by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump. Harris is announcing a further expansion, including an order for 2.5 million new solar panels involving Summit Ridge Energy, according to administration officials. But Dalton is the seat of a county where Trump won 2.4 votes for every one for Biden. "Instead, congressional Republicans want to roll back this progress and put investments in manufacturing, clean energy and good jobs at risk." Georgia is expected to again be one of the most contested states in the 2024 presidential election that may pit Biden against Trump once again.

☆ Unstable markets drag Canadian M&A, debt issuance to four-year low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The collapse of regional banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S. tightened credit market making funding difficult for deals. As the banking crisis abate and many global central banks move to the sidelines to assess the impact of rapid interest rates hikes, bankers are, however, betting that appetite for dealmaking would return. Canadian M&A volumes totalled $34.7 billion in the first quarter, down 52.3% from a year ago, with dealmaking off to the worst start since the same period in 2020. Some market participants noted the second quarter is already off to a stronger start, with the mining sector gathering momentum. Abeed Ramji, head of Canadian Debt Capital Markets at TD, said the lack of issuance from banks impacted the corporate debt market, adding that global markets had become more expensive for financing.

☆ US GAO denies Lockheed protest of Textron $7 bln Army helicopter deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Thursday denied Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) protest of the Army contract for the Future Long Range-Assault Aircraft worth as much as a $7.1 billion, awarded to Textron Inc's (TXT.N) Bell helicopter unit over Lockheed's Sikorsky unit. The initial contract award was for $232 million, but the first batch of helicopters in low rate production will be worth $7.1 billion. Ultimately, the contract is potentially worth around $70 billion - over decades - depending on how many the Army and U.S. allies order, the Army has said. In the FLARAA competition was Bell's V-280 "Valor," a tiltrotor aircraft that has reached speeds in excess of 340 mph (547 kph) according to the Army. “We remain confident the Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Boeing team submitted the most capable, affordable and lowest-risk Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft solution.

April 5 (Reuters) - Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL.N) said on Wednesday its first-quarter deposits were 11% lower than at the end of 2022, as customers spooked by the sudden collapse of two U.S. mid-sized lenders pulled out funds. Western Alliance said total deposits were $47.6 billion as of March 31, down from $53.6 billion at the end of 2022. Total insured deposits represented roughly 68% of its total deposits, significantly higher than the proportion at year-end. The collapses triggered the biggest banking crisis since 2008 and stoked heavy volatility in the sector, worsening existing jitters of an imminent recession. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note that while Western Alliance has reported a large decrease in deposits it believes that "this is ultimately an acceptable and manageable outcome for the company."

☆ US World Bank nominee Banga endorses lending expansion, pledges more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"That's good, we should do it," Banga said of the $5 billion lending expansion plan proposed by departing World Bank President David Malpass. But he said that to raise the trillions of dollars needed annually to reach 2030 and 2050 global emissions reduction goals, the World Bank needs to help catalyze private capital. The World Bank cannot do this alone," he said. Banga is now in the final stages of the World Bank executive board's selection process after emerging from a March nomination period as the sole candidate. He is expected to be confirmed as World Bank president by early May.

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