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☆ ECB's Holzmann calls for four more 50 bps rate hikes- Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should raise interest rates by 50 basis points at each of its next four meetings as inflation is proving to be stubborn, Austrian central bank chief Robert Holzmann told German business daily Handelsblatt. The ECB has raised rates by 3 percentage points since July and flagged a 50 basis point increase for March. Holzmann, an outspoken conservative - or hawk in policy terms - however said that based on current trends, he would favour 50 basis point moves in March, May, June and July. "I expect it to take a very long time for inflation to come down," Holzmann was quoted on Monday as saying. The four steps advocated by Holzmann would take the deposit rate to 4.5%, well above the 4% peak rate priced in by markets, a level no other policymaker has so far advocated in public.

☆ Fears of European industry exodus to U.S. may be overdone
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

However, the risks are offset not only by the substantial existing European incentives, but also other factors - such as proximity to European consumers - that many companies cite as critical in their decisions. Think tank Bruegel says EU support is already on a par with, or even larger than, IRA money. Moreover, well over half of the IRA support is for renewable energy production, with local content requirements playing a very limited role. Some executives say rather than providing more subsidies, Europe needs to simply improve the way they are given. The United States is not a panacea for European firms, not least due to questions about what approach the next U.S. administration might take.

But EU countries still need to rubber stamp the decision before it can take effect. EU countries' ambassadors on Friday cancelled the vote that had been planned for March 7, the spokesperson for Sweden said. Italy, which has previously said it will vote against the EU cars law, on Friday welcomed the postponement of the vote. Such an outcome, along with some resistance from Italy and some eastern European countries, could throw the whole EU ban into question. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend a German cabinet meeting at the Schloss Meseberg palace on Sunday, where the topic is likely to be discussed.

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Viatris Inc (VTRS.O) warned on Thursday that it will stop selling some essential medicines in the UK that are already in short supply unless the British government makes changes to its voluntary medicines pricing agreement. If that level is exceeded, the government recoups the excess from suppliers of branded drugs. His colleague Viatris' Head of Europe Artur Cwiok named Germany and Portugal as countries where governments were weighing changes to drug pricing. If Viatris opted to leave that pricing scheme, it would have to pay a rate in the statutory scheme the government says will rise to 27.5%. Pharma companies AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) and Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N) withdrew from the pricing scheme in January.

☆ YouTube child data gathering faces UK scrutiny after complaint
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Britain's information regulator said on Wednesday it would look into an official complaint accusing Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) YouTube of illegally collecting data from millions of children. McCann said in a statement that YouTube should change the design of its platform and delete data it had been gathering. A spokesperson for YouTube said it had taken steps to bolster child privacy with more protective default settings, and made investments to protect children and families by launching a dedicated kids app and introducing new data practices. "We remain committed to continuing our engagement with the ICO on this priority work, and with other key stakeholders including children, parents and child protection experts," the YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. Britain's Children's code requires providers to meet 15 design and privacy standards to protect children, including limiting collection of their location and other personal data.

☆ Bayer sees lower 2023 operating profit on cost inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Agriculture and healthcare company Bayer (BAYGn.DE) said operating earnings would likely decline in 2023, hurt by higher costs and the reversal of last year's price boost for its glyphosate-based weedkillers. In a statement on Tuesday, Bayer said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, would likely be between 12.5 billion euros ($13.23 billion) and 13 billion euros this year, excluding the effect of currency swings. In his last presentation of the company's quarterly results, Chief Executive Werner Baumann said the company is active in the right areas of business. For 2023, "the company anticipates lower prices for agricultural herbicides as well as for some of its established pharmaceutical products," Bayer said, also citing high inflation-driven cost increases. ($1 = 0.9447 euros)Additional reporting by Patricia Weiss Editing by Friederike Heine, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The small European nation of Switzerland beat sky-high inflation. Here's how
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

watch nowZURICH — As many countries across the globe battle stubbornly high inflation, the rise in prices has been far less dramatic in Switzerland, a small mountainous nation in western Europe. The stability of the Swiss francAnother reason for Switzerland's relative price stability stems from the strong Swiss franc. While many currencies plunged against an appreciating U.S. dollar, the Swiss franc held steady amid volatility in Europe. The Swiss franc is heavily backed by large reserve of gold, bonds and financial assets, which help the Swiss National Bank ensure the currency's stability during times of volatility. A stronger Swiss franc provides an effective discount on those imports.

☆ Volkswagen to build own US plant for Scout brand - Automobilwoche
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE) will build its own production plant in the United States for its new Scout brand rather than collaborating with a partner, industry publication Automobilwoche reported on Friday, citing company sources. Volkswagen said last May it planned to reintroduce the Scout off-road brand, creating a separate, independent company to build Scout trucks and SUVs starting in 2026 that will be designed, engineered, and manufactured in the United States for U.S. customers. Building its own plant was the least likely option, the publication reported at the time, also citing company sources. Volkswagen is expanding its existing U.S. plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to produce the ID. However, the Scout brand will build off-road electric pick-up trucks and SUVs that require a new platform and the Chattanooga plant does not have enough space to do it all, a source told Reuters last May.

☆ OECD says global economic outlook 'slightly better' for 2023 but inflation risks linger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People shop near prices displayed in a supermarket on February 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said the global economic outlook is "slightly brighter" this year but inflation challenges remain. Energy prices have fallen significantly because Europe was able to "successfully" diversify its sources of energy, Cormann noted. In addition, a "benign winter" helped to reduce energy demand which kept gas prices low, he said. In November, the OECD said "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has provoked a massive energy price shock not seen since the 1970s."

☆ Audi CEO: IRA subsidies make prospect of building U.S. plant "highly attractive"
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chief Executive Markus Duesmann said that a decision had not yet been made but that the IRA made it far more attractive to build electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States. Asked whether Audi would build a plant itself or do so together with other Volkswagen brands, Duesmann said: "Both are possible. But a growing number of firms are now announcing heightened investment in the United States over Europe in light of the IRA, worrying European officials. Volkswagen is also upgrading its Mexican plants in Puebla and Silao to starting building EVs, motors and related components by mid-decade. Volkswagen is due to lay out in March how it will rejig its production network worldwide to scale up EV production.

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Bank of England interest rate-setter Catherine Mann said on Thursday that it was too soon to say the risks posed by the surge in inflation last year had eased and that the central bank should continue to raise borrowing costs. The BoE raised interest rates to 4% earlier this month but signalled it was close to ending a run of increases which began in December 2021. She has previously argued in favour of raising borrowing costs sharply in the face of an inflation rate that remains above 10%, even though the BoE has forecast that it will fall sharply this year. Two other members of the Monetary Policy Committee - Swati Dhingra and Silvana Tenreyro - voted to pause the rate hikes at this month's meeting. Mann also said that she believed that in normal times, interest rate changes took their full effect faster than the 18-24 months which economists have previously estimated.

☆ Morning Bid: Blue chips cheered up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] The logo of technology company Nvidia is seen at its headquarters in Santa Clara, California February 11, 2015. Its CEO Jensen Huang said use of its chips to power AI had "gone through the roof in the last 60 days." The Federal Reserve at least seems keen on the higher-for-longer message that's shaken world stock and bond markets this week. And as the minutes pre-date red-hot jobs and retail data for January, the message from Fed officials is probably even sterner now. A Reuters poll of equity analysts showed global stock markets are expected to correct in the next three months.

☆ Nvidia shares up 12% on earnings and bullish outlook on A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nvidia shares opened up more than 12% Thursday morning, a day after the chipmaker reported a beat on the top and bottom line. Nvidia reported $6.05 billion in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter and adjusted EPS of 88 cents, edging out the Wall Street consensus. Nvidia's AI play is "accelerating in a way that will have disruptive implications" for both its competitors and "the world at large," Rosenblatt Securities' Hans Mosesmann said in a Wednesday note. Caso hiked Nvidia's price target from $210 to $275. And in an about-face, Goldman Sachs' Toshiya Hari upgraded Nvidia to a buy rating and set a $275 price target.

☆ 'Unpredictable' election in Africa's largest economy is set to resonate around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

After 24 years of uninterrupted democracy since ending military dictatorship in 1999, Africa's most populous nation and largest economy is conducting its seventh election. Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria's president, speaks during the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in New York. Leena Koni Hoffmann, associate fellow of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, told CNBC on Monday that the presidential election will be the "most unpredictable" since the transition to civilian rule. Alongside the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, Koni Hoffmann noted "missed opportunities" and "self-inflicted crises" under Buhari's regime. Economists panned the decision, which Koni Hoffmann suggested rendered Nigeria and its neighbors more vulnerable to the damage of the pandemic.

In a country of 1.4 billion people, job fairs are one of the most efficient ways for employers and workers to connect. There will be more job seekers battling for offers this year." About 60% cited the "uncertain economic environment" as the main factor affecting their confidence, up from 48.4% in 2022. Policymakers are expected to aim for growth of about 5%, which would still be below the blistering pre-pandemic pace. ($1 = 6.8767 Chinese yuan renminbi)Additional reporting by Xiaoyu Yin Editing by Marius Zaharia and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meet a Navy officer who just got $323,000 in student loans forgiven and said public service was 'the only way' he could have paid off his debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jared Weegmann, 37, got $323,000 in student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. "I just remember thinking, the only way this is ever gonna get off me is if I immediately start some public service job." Jared Weegmann (left) had $323,000 student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. "We determined you have successfully met the requirements of the PSLF Program and your loans listed below have been forgiven. Thanks to changes we've made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, everyday Americans can reach dreams they put off for far too long.

LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. partner of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has confirmed that a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao operated as a market maker on its platform. It did not elaborate on when in 2021 the activity ceased, or comment on Zhao's role at the trading firm. Binance transferred over $400 million from the account at California-based Silvergate Bank to Merit Peak between January and March of 2021, Reuters reported on Thursday. Before that story's publication, Binance.US had told Reuters that "Merit Peak is neither trading nor providing any kind of services on the Binance.US platform," without giving further details. A spokesperson for the global Binance exchange, which did not respond to Reuters' questions for the story on Thursday, told crypto news outlet CoinDesk that the transfers were "a Binance.US issue."

☆ Binance reportedly had secret access to its US arm's bank account
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The US partner of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has confirmed that a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao operated as a market maker on its platform. It did not elaborate on when in 2021 the activity ceased, or comment on Zhao’s role at the trading firm. A spokesperson for Binance.US referred CNN to its Thursday tweet, emphasizing the line that reads: “ONLY Binance.US employees have access to Binance.US bank accounts. Before that story’s publication, Binance.US had told Reuters that “Merit Peak is neither trading nor providing any kind of services on the Binance.US platform,” without giving further details. Adobe StockBinance.US’s executives were concerned by the outflows from the Silvergate account to Merit Peak because the transfers were taking place without their knowledge, according to the messages reviewed by Reuters.

☆ Privacy Regulators Step Up Oversight of AI Use in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Catherine Stupp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

European privacy regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of companies’ use of artificial intelligence, hiring experts and opening new units to crack down on data violations. “AI is appearing in all sectors,” said Kari Laumann, head of a division for research, analysis and policy at Norway’s data protection authority. The regulator’s office has worked with 64 companies to test AI initiatives under its supervision, in a program started in 2020. Regulators have fined companies for privacy failings in their AI applications in recent years, but European data protection officials and privacy analysts say it is still unclear how to apply some aspects of European privacy law to the technology. Mr. Jairaj said he expects the EU’s coming legislation to force companies to look closely at third-party suppliers of AI products.

☆ Crypto Giant Binance Expects to Pay Penalties to Resolve U.S. Investigations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, expects to pay monetary penalties to settle existing U.S. regulatory and law-enforcement investigations of its business, the firm’s chief strategy officer said in an interview. Binance grew quickly and began as a business powered by software engineers unfamiliar with laws and rules written to address the risk of bribery and corruption, money laundering, and economic sanctions, Patrick Hillmann said. The company has been working to fill gaps in its early compliance efforts, he said, but still expects regulators will impose fines for past conduct.

☆ PREVIEW-Soccer-Bayern's bogeyman Gladbach ready for another upset
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - There is no team in the Bundesliga that can boast of having a better record against the mighty Bayern Munich than Borussia Moenchengladbach. Gladbach, in 10th place, are unbeaten against Bayern in their last four encounters across all competitions and another match without defeat would set a new unbeaten club record against the Bavarians. "We will have to see for both of them how it develops over the next few days," said Farke. While Bayern started the year with three straight draws, Julian Nagelmann's team has since bounced back and won their last two league games. "Bayern are in good form and will be highly motivated to deliver against us," said Farke.

☆ Twitter restricted in Turkey two days after quake, says NetBlocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Twitter has been restricted in Turkey on Wednesday, the Netblocks internet observatory said, two days after a major earthquake that has killed more than 11,500 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria. Users of the platform including opposition figures, academics and non-governmental organisations protested the move, with communications already difficult in the quake zone due to limited reception. "How come Twitter is restricted on a day communication saves lives? Akdeniz said it was immediately unclear what caused the restriction, adding that access to Tiktok was also limited in Turkey. Reporting by Can Sezer and Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Daren Butler and Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann suggests tenants in his apartments will plunge their own clogged toilets because they'll feel like owners
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Adam Neumann said renters in Flow apartments will plunge their own toilets. Neumann spoke at a conference about how Flow wants to create a sense of ownership for renters. During the conference, Neumann said the goal of Flow was to make the resident feel valued. "If you're in an apartment building and you're a renter and your toilet gets clogged, you call the super," Neumann said. Neumann said during the conference he wanted Flow apartments to provide an "elevated experience" and a "community" to tenants.

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

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

☆ Southwest CEO Jordan finds himself in eye of storm after airline's holiday debacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Rajesh Kumar Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

CHICAGO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines Co's (LUV.N) CEO, faces the biggest challenge yet in his 35-year career at the airline that has built a customer-friendly reputation. Southwest's struggles reached a notable low on Jan. 28 when comedy sketch TV show "Saturday Night Live" lampooned the Dallas-based airline's technology and service. The carrier will now answer to U.S. Congress on Thursday when Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee. In October, Jordan, who started his career at Southwest in 1988 as a computer programmer, put Watterson in charge of the airline's operations. Last week, Jordan also named a chief information officer who will help manage the airline's technology investments, upgrades and system maintenance.

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