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☆ Pacific meetings, defence pact, to go ahead in Papua without Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Biden had been expected to meet with 18 leaders from the region's main bloc, the Pacific Islands Forum, and sign a defence cooperation agreement with PNG on Monday. PNG Prime Minister James Marape is expected to announce details of the defence pact with the United States on Thursday, his office told Reuters. Fiji said Pacific leaders would hold discussions with Modi on regional cooperation. The chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, said the regional meeting had originally been organised between the Pacific countries and India, and his plans to travel to PNG were unchanged. Biden will arrange another summit of Pacific island leaders this year after the disappointment caused by his cancellation of the PNG visit, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday.

[1/2] Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are covered with a white sheet as they arrive to appear at the High Court in Lahore, Pakistan, May 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohsin RazaISLAMABAD, May 16 (Reuters) - Bushra Khan, the wife of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, is facing corruption charges in the same case that led to his arrest on May 9. It was not clear when or how Khan met Bushra, but former aide Aun Chaudhry said Khan was very impressed with her spirituality. Khan and Bushra married in 2018, seven months before he was elected prime minister, in a secret ceremony. While prime minister, Khan promoted the trust at official events, and the couple are the sole trustees, according to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

☆ Why Alaska is getting rid of several dozen jets in high demand by airlines after only flying them for roughly 5 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Alaska Airlines is retiring its 10 remaining Airbus A321neo aircraft on September 30. Alaska Airlines is on track to be an all-Boeing operator by year's end. In a recent earnings call, the Seattle-based carrier said the remaining 10 planes in its Airbus A321neo fleet will be retired by fall 2023. Alaska once had 72 Airbus aircraft after merging with Virgin America in 2018 and has already gotten rid of its A319 and A320ceo aircraft as of January 2023. With all of the Airbus planes gone, Alaska will only operate Boeing 737 jets in its mainline fleet.

The U.S. debt crisis is a headache for Japan, which is this year's G7 chair and the world's biggest holder of U.S. debt. Five more countries were invited to the outreach including Brazil, India and Indonesia - but not China - although emerging nations' debt problems will feature high on the agenda. On the other hand, Tokyo is courting China to join a creditor nations' meeting it initiated to resolve Sri Lanka's debt. "The agenda of talks show how G7 is becoming increasingly politicized in nature, with an emphasis on countering China." The International Monetary Fund last month trimmed its 2023 global growth outlook and warned a severe flare-up of financial system turmoil could slash output to near recessionary levels.

☆ Sri Lanka Supreme Court clears path for decriminalisation of homosexuality
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LGBTQ+ rights activists in Sri Lanka have been campaigning for years to change the law in a country where homosexuality is still punishable by a prison sentence and a fine, leading to the private member's bill presented in parliament last month. The Supreme Court, after hearing more than a dozen petitions on both sides of the argument, ruled it was not unconstitutional, Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said. “The Supreme Court is of the opinion that the bill as a whole or as any provision thereof is not inconsistent with the constitution,” the speaker told parliament. Activists will still have to lobby for support from the 225 parliamentarians to push forward the proposed legislation through parliament. This Supreme Court decision is major for the community in terms of any kind of progress they have seen over the last couple of years," Coswatte added.

☆ Sri Lanka's creditor nations to meet despite uncertainty on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - As Sri Lanka's creditor nations prepare for their first meeting on Tuesday to co-ordinate restructuring of the Indian Ocean nation's debt, the focus is turning to whether China will attend. Last month France, India and Japan unveiled a common platform for talks among bilateral creditors to co-ordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka's debt. Sri Lanka owes $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, government data show, with $3 billion owed to China, followed by $2.4 billion to the Paris Club and $1.6 billion to India. The government also needs to renegotiate more than $12 billion of debt in eurobonds with overseas private creditors, and $2.7 billion on other commercial loans. Sri Lanka has kicked off talks to rework part of its domestic debt and aims to finalise the deal by May.

☆ 7-Eleven spin-off would jeopardise growth, CEO says, pushing back at ValueAct
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ritsuko Shimizu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 5 (Reuters) - A spin-off of 7-Eleven would jeopardise the convenience store chain's future growth by cutting it off from its parent's strength in the food business, the chief executive of Japan's Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd (3382.T) told Reuters. ValueAct has long been critical of Seven & i's conglomerate structure, calling for a spin-off of the 7-Eleven chain or for a sale of the entire company, but Isaka said that would not be in the chain's best interests. "The risk and probability of 7-Eleven Japan's growth coming to a halt would be very high if the company's product development resources were to be cut off," he said. In April, ValueAct ratcheted up the pressure on the company, calling for Isaka's departure and saying he was responsible for a "flawed strategy". Isaka said 7-Eleven is reliant on staff and know-how from Seven & i's supermarket businesses, such as Ito-Yokado, in developing products for its "Seven Premium" private brand.

☆ LeBron James' SpringHill is circling Complex Networks as owner BuzzFeed struggles to regroup after layoffs and a stock price plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

LeBron James and Maverick Carter's SpringHill has had conversations about buying BuzzFeed's Complex Networks, sources said. SpringHill Co., LeBron James and Maverick Carter's media and entertainment venture, has explored buying troubled BuzzFeed's Complex Networks, two sources familiar with the situation said. In addition to Complex Networks, BuzzFeed has HuffPost; food vertical Tasty, which includes licensed cooking products; as well as video series like travel-themed "Bring Me." Complex built long-form, host-driven video series like "Hot Ones" and "Sneaker Shopping" into high-profile brands in their own right. SpringHill Co. is a rollup including SpringHill Entertainment, which Carter founded with LeBron James, his childhood friend.

The Republican-led state is currently enforcing a near-total abortion ban, with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. NORTH CAROLINA: House Republicans have introduced a bill to ban abortion from conception, except to preserve the life or health of the mother. The Senate tabled discussion of a near-total abortion ban on Thursday after it had been approved by the House. PROTECTIONSCALIFORNIA: A Democratic state senator has introduced a bill to protect doctors who prescribe medication abortion pills to patients in other states. ILLINOIS: Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker in January signed a law protecting abortion providers and out-of-state patients from legal attacks waged by other states.

☆ Sri Lanka's economy to shrink by 2% in 2023, central bank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, April 27 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's economy is expected to shrink by 2% in 2023, its central bank said in an annual report on Thursday, as the country struggled to emerge from its worst financial crisis in decades. The central bank projected Sri Lanka's economy would grow by 3.3% in 2024, according to the report. The World Bank estimates Sri Lanka's economy will contract by 4.3% in 2023. "Sri Lanka's economy has been gradually stabilising since mid-2022. Sri Lanka, which defaulted on its foreign debt a year ago, is currently negotiating its debt repayments with bondholders and bilateral creditors.

☆ State lawmaker who opposed a bill limiting care for trans kids, including her own, is now under investigation over it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The complaint said she should have filed a conflict of interest statement about having a transgender child before she voted against a bill restricting transgender care. "I do not endorse this offensive complaint," Republican state Sen. Tom Brandt said. Democratic state Sen. Wendy DeBoer said that the logic used in the complaint could reasonably be used against her as well. Every time we have a bill on basically anything in here, I'm involved because I care about my state. I care about the people in my state, and I'm involved with them, just like Senator Hunt is.

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Incumbent President Joe Biden entered the 2024 election race on Tuesday with something he didn't have two-and-a-half years ago: a record in the White House. Critics also say that increased federal spending under Biden, including $750 million on climate change and tax breaks, also drove inflation higher. Biden may have worse cards in 2024, with unemployment likely to rise as growth slows, interest rates remaining high and inflation holding above pre-pandemic levels. Biden also dismissed the sentences of thousands of people with federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, a disproportionately non-white group. The Biden administration also has faced scrutiny over its handling of record numbers of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

☆ Jeronimo Martins' first-quarter profit jumps 59%, margin narrows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Patricia Vicente Rua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, April 26 (Reuters) - Portugal's second-largest retailer Jeronimo Martins (JMT.LS) on Wednesday posted a 59% jump in first-quarter net income as higher prices to offset soaring inflation boosted sales, though its margins narrowed. The company booked a net profit of 140 million euros ($154.71 million) between January and March. Consolidated sales in the first three months of the year rose 23.4% to 6.8 billion euros, driven by its Biedronka chain in Poland, where sales increased 26% to 4.8 billion euros. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 20.1% to 446 million euros in the quarter. The company plans to invest around 1 billion euros this year, 45% of which in Poland where it wants to open between 130-150 stores and remodel about 350 stores.

☆ Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: Tesla, IBM, American Express, KeyCorp and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

IBM — The tech stock rose more than 1% in premarket trading after the company reported an earnings beat. IBM posted adjusted earnings of $1.36 per share, compared to $1.26 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. American Express — Shares dipped 1.3% after the payments company reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.40 for the first quarter, below StreetAccount's estimates of $2.66. F5 — The cloud-based software company's shares were down about 7% after a mixed second fiscal quarter earnings report. Analysts polled by FactSet had estimated 44 cents earnings per share and $1.79 billion in revenue.

☆ Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci: We see a strong demand going into Q2
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAlaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci: We see a strong demand going into Q2Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci and CNBC's Phil Lebeau join 'The Exchange' to discuss Alaska's wider than expected Q2 earnings loss, the factors complicating Alaska's earnings picture, and strategic investments towards upgrading airline technology infrastructure.

☆ Belarusian Sabalenka says Lukashenko's comments 'not helping'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

read more"I'm pretty sure that it's not helping," Sabalenka told reporters in Stuttgart on Tuesday when asked about Lukashenko's comments. "I don't know what to say because he can comment (on) my game, he can comment whatever he wants to. The 24-year-old said she kept away from the internet as much as possible to avoid reading negative comments. Sabalenka is playing at the Stuttgart Open this week after withdrawing from the Charleston Open with a minor injury. She will face Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the claycourt event after receiving a bye in the opener.

☆ DeLeon Realty CEO on the state of the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDeLeon Realty CEO on the state of the housing marketMichael Repka, DeLeon Realty Group CEO, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss the moves in housing prices from Repka's vantage point, how the high-end homes are doing, and what $3 million would buy you in Silicon Valley.

☆ Mysterious glowing 'SpaceX spirals' in the night sky seem to be linked to rocket launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's likely a cloud of excess fuel from a SpaceX rocket launched earlier that day. "SpaceX spirals" are rare, but they may be getting more common. These spirals are appearing shortly after SpaceX rocket launches, and are probably residual fuel the rockets released during flight, space physicist Don Hampton told the Associated Press. SpaceX spirals, jellyfish, and smoke rings may happen more oftenThis is the third time in the past year that a Falcon 9 rocket has appeared to produce a SpaceX spiral. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft launches at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - A committee of Sri Lanka's international private creditors sent its first debt rework proposal to the country's authorities regarding more than $12 billion in bonds outstanding, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter. It is the first bondholder proposal after the island nation of 22 million people defaulted on its debt a year ago. A spokesperson representing the creditor committee declined to comment. Bondholders and government officials met in Washington this week, with legal and financial advisers for both sides present, two sources said. China, Sri Lanka's biggest bilateral creditor, did not join the announcement even though it holds the key to solving debt woes for some low- and middle-income countries.

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - A committee of Sri Lanka's international private creditors sent its first debt rework proposal to the country's authorities regarding over $12 billion in bonds outstanding, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter. It is the first bondholder proposal after the island-nation of 22 million people defaulted on its debt a year ago. A spokesperson representing the creditor committee declined to comment. China, Sri Lanka’s biggest bilateral creditor, did not join the announcement. Sri Lanka secured last month a $2.9 billion program from the International Monetary Fund to tackle its huge debt burden.

It remains uncertain, however, whether Sri Lanka's biggest bilateral creditor - China - will join the initiative launched by Japan, this year's G7 chair, with the aim of kicking off a series of meetings among Sri Lanka's creditors. "I hope the creation of this platform will become a model case" for debt restructuring of middle-income countries, Suzuki said. Sri Lanka owes $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, according to official data from its government, with $3 billion owed to China, followed by $2.4 billion to the Paris Club and $1.6 billion to India. The government also needs to renegotiate more than $12 billion of debt in eurobonds with overseas private creditors, and $2.7 billion on other commercial loans. Sri Lanka kicked off talks to rework part of its domestic debt this month and aims to finalise the deal by May.

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Japan, India and France on Thursday announced a common platform for talks among bilateral creditors to coordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka's debt, a move they hope would serve as a model for solving the debt woes of middle-income economies. It remains uncertain, however, whether Sri Lanka's biggest bilateral creditor - China - will join the initiative launched by Japan, this year's G7 chair, with the aim of kicking off a series of meetings among Sri Lanka's creditors. Sri Lanka owes $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, according to official data from its government, with $3 billion owed to China, followed by $2.4 billion to the Paris Club and $1.6 billion to India. The government also needs to renegotiate more than $12 billion of debt in eurobonds with overseas private creditors, and $2.7 billion on other commercial loans. Sri Lanka kicked off talks to rework part of its domestic debt this month and aims to finalize the deal by May.

☆ 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.

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