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☆ Uber confident on profit as ride-sharing makes strong start to 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Uber branding is seen on private hire vehicle at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, March 22, 2023. Shares of the company rose 10%, while those of smaller peer Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) gained 4% in pre-market trading. Uber is benefiting from its dominant position in key global markets as travel rebounds from a pandemic-induced lull. The dominant U.S. ride-sharing company also forecast gross bookings, the total dollar value from its services, between $33 billion and $34 billion, compared with expectations of $33 billion. Uber said adjusted EBITDA came in at $761 million, its highest on record as a public company.

☆ India constructs world's highest railway bridge above Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir region
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —India is now home to the world’s tallest railway bridge. Some 35 meters (over 10 feet) taller than the Eiffel Tower, the Chenab Bridge sits 359 meters (around 109 feet) above the Chenab River in India’s contentious Jammu and Kashmir region. The 1,315 meter-long (4,314 feet) bridge is part of a broader project to make the Kashmir Valley accessible by the Indian Railway network. In addition to the Chenab Bridge, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project involves what will become the country’s longest transportation tunnel and Indian Railways’ first cable bridge. “Once we will be connected by train with the rest of India, it will be a big boost to this industry, agriculture as well as fruit.”The Chenab bridge is part of efforts to link Kashmir with the rest of India.

Foxconn struck a deal in November to take a near-20% stake in the money-losing U.S. firm for up to $170 million. It has since invested $52.7 million and is balking at purchasing additional shares, citing a breach of their agreement, Lordstown said. "There is substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern," Lordstown said in a filing, referring to its dispute with Foxconn over the investment deal. Their course of conduct has resulted in material — and what is becoming irreparable — harm to the company," Lordstown said in a statement. Lordstown shares, which at one point tumbled more than 50% on Monday, closed down 23%, or 12 cents, at 40 cents, in heavy trading.

☆ GM lays off several hundred full-time contract workers - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies General Motors Co FollowMay 1 (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) has laid off several hundred full-time contract workers at its engineering hub in suburban Detroit over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a company spokesperson. GM said in April that about 5,000 salaried workers had opted for buyouts to leave the company, bringing it closer to its cost-cut target of $2 billion by the end of 2024. Reuters in March reported that GM was cutting hundreds of executive-level and salaried jobs. GM posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings last week and raised its full-year profit and cash-flow forecasts. Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lordstown said Foxconn cited the delisting notice the Ohio-based company received from Nasdaq in a letter alleging the breach. Lordstown shares were trading mid-morning at $0.39, down 13 cents a share. Lordstown warned that "there is substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern". Without a resolution with Foxconn, other funding or partners, it said it could be forced to file for bankruptcy. Lordstown Motors bought a former General Motors (GM.N) small car assembly plant and equipment for $20 million in Ohio after the Detroit automaker closed it in March 2019.

☆ KKR to invest $250 million more in India's Serentica Renewables
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies KKR & Co Inc FollowBENGALURU, May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) will invest an additional $250 million in Serentica Renewables, the Indian decarbonisation platform said on Monday. "This latest investment will support the company's effort to achieve 4000MW of installed renewable energy capacity that will aid clean energy delivery to large-scale industrial customers," Serentica Renewables said in a statement. KKR, which jointly holds Serentica with billionaire Anil Agarwal's Twinstar Overseas Ltd, had in November committed to invest $400 million in the company. Founded last year, Serentica focuses on industrial decarbonisation by making renewables the primary source of energy for the commercial and industrial sectors, that use more than 50% of the electricity generated in India. Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

May 1 (Reuters) - Lordstown Motors (RIDE.O) shares plunged 48% Monday after major shareholder Foxconn alleged it breached their $170 million investment deal and the electric truck maker warned it might be forced to file for bankruptcy. Lordstown warned in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday that "there is substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern." Without a resolution with Foxconn, other funding or new partners, it could be forced to file for bankruptcy or cease operations, it added. Lordstown shares were trading mid-afternoon at 27 cents, down 25 cents. Lordstown Motors bought a former General Motors Co (GM.N) small car assembly plant and equipment for $20 million in Ohio after the Detroit automaker closed it in March 2019.

☆ Explainer: With Bluesky, Jack Dorsey has another go at Twitter-like service
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 1 (Reuters) - Jack Dorsey is taking another whack at a Twitter-like service with a new social media platform called Bluesky. The service is gaining traction among Twitter power users, attracting prominent personalities including U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It's a text-focused social media service launched for select users in February. Bluesky offers a similar experience to Twitter - people create profiles and post short messages with text and images. On the timeline, Bluesky has "What's hot" and "Following" feed, similar to the curated "For You" and the chronological "Following" feeds on Twitter.

☆ US FDA declines to approve Ascendis' hormone disorder therapy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Ascendis Pharma A/S FollowMay 1 (Reuters) - Ascendis Pharma A/S (A71.F) said on Monday the U.S. Food & Drug Administration had declined to approve the Danish drugmaker's experimental therapy to treat adult patients with a hormone disorder called hypoparathyroidism, citing concerns linked to manufacturing control of the drug and device combination. Ascendis said it would request a meeting with the FDA as soon as possible on the best path forward. Shares have lost about 35% of their value through Friday's close of $69.96 since the FDA early last month identified unspecified deficiencies in the company's application for approval of the therapy, TransCon PTH. In a note on Friday, TD Cowen analyst Yaron Werber raised concerns about the lack of clarity around the FDA decision following the Ascendis' post-earnings conference late Thursday. He said the stock would slump if the FDA sought another pre-clinical or clinical study as this would delay approval by 1.5-2 years.

☆ Amazon's cloud warning rattles investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Growth in Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) lucrative cloud business is slowing and investors are worried. Shares fell 4% on Friday as Amazon's cloud business slowed in April after posting its weakest quarterly growth since the company began breaking out the unit's sales in 2015. The results are in contrast to those of Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Azure cloud business, which grew at 27%. Still, analysts were largely upbeat about Amazon's cloud prospects, with about 17 raising their price targets on the stock, compared with the 10 that lowered their view. "Amazon is the clear market share leader in cloud computing and they will remain that way," Sundaram said.

☆ Eli Lilly raises annual profit forecast on strength of diabetes drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Eli Lilly and Co FollowApril 27 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N) raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, betting on the approval of its diabetes drug, tirzepatide, for the treatment of obesity expected later this year. Lilly now expects adjusted 2023 earnings of $8.65 to $8.85 per share, compared with its prior forecast of $8.35 to $8.55. Analysts were expecting annual profit of $8.45 per share, according to Refinitiv estimates. Sales of the drug, sold under the brand name Mounjaro for diabetes, came in at $568.5 million, beating estimates of $422.5 million, according to an average of four analysts polled by Refinitiv. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bombardier swings to profit on deliveries of pricier business jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MONTREAL, April 27 (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) swung to a first-quarter adjusted profit, helped by increased deliveries of its pricier planes, the business jet maker said on Thursday. Business jet makers are planning to deliver more planes this year, despite concerns over supply chain snarls, following a surge in demand to fly private during the COVID-19 pandemic. But analysts have reported softening business jet traffic in major markets compared with 2022 as fears of an economic downturn loom. Bombardier delivered 22 business jets during the quarter, up one from a year earlier. However the company delivered two more medium-sized and two more large-cabin business jets which command stronger pricing.

Boeing shares rose 2.5% in early afternoon trade after the company reaffirmed its plans to generate $3 billion to $5 billion in free cash flow this year, as well as deliver 400 to 450 737 MAXs and 70 to 80 787 Dreamliners. Deliveries will increase to about 40 MAXs a month during the back half of the year, he said. Reuters reported earlier this month that Boeing's schedule called for suppliers to produce 38 737 MAXs a month from June. Reuters GraphicsBoeing's first-quarter cash burn slowed to $786 million from $3.57 billion a year earlier on higher jet deliveries. Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru and Valerie Insinna in Washington; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

April 26 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Wednesday that it planned to ramp up production of its 737 MAX jets to 38 per month by year-end, while backing its annual cash-flow goal, offering some relief to investors after a new manufacturing snafu threatened to derail deliveries. Reuters reported earlier this month that Boeing's schedule called for suppliers to ramp up to 38 737 MAXs a month in June. Overall, Boeing reaffirmed plans to generate $3 billion to $5 billion in free cash flow this year, as well as deliver 400 to 450 737 MAXs and 70 to 80 787 Dreamliners. Boeing reported an adjusted loss per share of $1.27, wider than analyst expectations of a loss of $1.07 per share, per Refinitiv data. Boeing executives are expected to detail the scope of the problem on an investor call later in the day.

☆ Goldman Prize winner 2023: Zambian who took on a UK mining giant and won
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chilekwa Mumba Courtesy Goldman Environmental PrizeOn Monday, Mumba, 38, was awarded the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa for his work for the community and setting legal precedent. The prize is awarded each year by The Goldman Environmental Foundation, with ceremonies in San Francisco and Washington, DC. CNN has contacted Vedanta and the Zambian state mining company for comments. The government, however, says that approved projects will follow environmental policies set by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA). For Mumba, who now runs an orphanage in the Zambian capital Lusaka with his wife, the battle is far from over.

☆ South Africa to try to withdraw from ICC again - Ramaphosa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to a parliamentary debate on his state of the nation address in Cape Town, South Africa, February 16, 2023. Only two days earlier, South Africa's parliament announced that it would abandon a seven-year-long legislative process to pull South Africa out of the ICC's Rome Statute. The process was abandoned because the governing party in December decided that South Africa should rather remain in the ICC and try to effect changes from within, a decision that has now been reversed. The international arrest warrant against Putin was issued after he had already received his invite from South Africa to the BRICS summit in August, and it would oblige South Africa to hand him over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if he set foot in the country. "He has been invited by President Ramaphosa and Russia has indicated attendance," South Africa's official in charge of the relationship with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries, Anil Sooklal, told Reuters.

☆ SVB CEO, CFO resign, company appoints turnaround expert as interim finance head
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - SVB Financial Group's CEO and chief financial officer resigned this week while the collapsed lender's restructuring committee appointed a turnaround expert as interim CFO, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. CEO Gregory Becker resigned on April 19, while finance chief Daniel Beck left the company on April 18, SVB said. The two top executives were sued in March by shareholders who accused them of concealing how rising interest rates would leave its Silicon Valley Bank unit "particularly susceptible" to a bank run. The restructuring committee appointed Nicholas Grossi of A&M as the company's interim chief financial officer on April 20, according to the filing. The regulators then agreed to backstop a deal for regional lender First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA.O) to acquire Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ SVB says CEO, CFO resigned this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - SVB Financial Group CEO Gregory Becker and financial chief Daniel Beck resigned this week, the collapsed lender said in a regulatory filing on Friday. Becker resigned on April 19, while Beck left the company on April 18, SVB said. The two top executives were sued in March by shareholders who accused them of concealing how rising interest rates would leave its Silicon Valley Bank unit "particularly susceptible" to a bank run. The restructuring committee appointed Nicholas Grossi of A&M as the company's interim chief financial officer on April 20, according to the filing. The regulators then agreed to backstop a deal for regional lender First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA.O) to acquire Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Lyft to 'significantly' cut jobs in new CEO's first major move
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) CEO David Risher said on Friday the ride-hailing company will "significantly" cut jobs in another round of layoffs to reduce costs, sending its shares up about 4%. Lyft could see costs slashed by half after the layoffs, the WSJ report said. The companies' last reported results showed that Uber's global presence and more diversified businesses were giving it an edge over U.S.-focused Lyft. Lyft's stock had fallen about 11% this year, compared with Uber's price gain of 27.5%, as of Thursday's close. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Silver Lake to buy Germany's Software AG in $2.42 bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Private-equity firm Silver Lake has offered to buy Software AG (SOWGn.DE) in a deal that values the German business software developer at 2.2 billion euros ($2.42 billion). The offer price of 30 euros per share in cash by Silver Lake-controlled Blitz 22-449 SE represents a premium of 53% to Software AG's closing price of 19.59 euros on Thursday. In February 2022, Silver Lake had invested 344 million euros in the software developer's convertible bond, which upon conversion would represent nearly 9% of issued Software AG shares, the company said in a statement. Software AG's board and takeover committee are "highly supportive" of the offer and intend to recommend it to its shareholders, the company said. ($1 = 0.9102 euros)Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Life sciences software startup Benchling lays off 9% of workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Benchling, which develops software tools for scientists and pharmaceutical research organizations, has laid off 74 employees, or 9% of its workforce, its spokesperson confirmed on Friday. The startup joins a growing number of U.S. firms, including Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Amazon.com Inc and several startups, to downsize its workforce amid mounting worries of a recession in the United States. The San Francisco-based company, which filed for an initial public offering in late 2021, was last valued at over $6 billion. Benchling offers cloud-based tools and laboratory automation software that allow researchers to collaborate and track projects. Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru and Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India’s population is on track to exceed China’s, but a report says its workforce is weighed down by thousands of people with worthless college degrees
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

As India's population inches past China's, it remains burdened by a workforce with worthless degrees. This glut of incompetent workers comes as India's population is set to overtake China's by mid-2023, per the United Nations. While some colleges provide inadequate training, a private university in North India went one step further, and sold fake degrees. Bloomberg's report on India's failing education system comes as India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous country. By mid-2023, India's population is estimated to reach 1.4286 billion, 2.9 million more than China's 1.4257 billion people, per the United Nations Population Fund's "State of World Population Report."

Elon Musk-led Tesla reported total gross margin of 19.3%, compared with expectations of 22.4%, according to 14 analysts polled by Refinitiv. For the first quarter, Tesla's automotive gross margins, a closely watched figure by analysts and investors, dropped. Finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn promised in January that Tesla would not go below automotive gross margins of 20% and an average selling price of $47,000 across models. Excluding items, Tesla reported a profit of 85 cents, in line with estimates. Deliveries of higher-priced Model S and Model X vehicles slumped from the previous quarter, it said.

☆ US CDC signs off on second Omicron-updated COVID booster for older adults
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Older people and those with weakened immune systems may get a second dose of Omicron-targeting COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday. The agency's decision after its advisory committee's meeting aligns it with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authorization on Tuesday for a second dose of Omicron-updated booster for the specified high-risk population. Adults aged 65 years and older can take a second dose of the updated vaccine, the CDC said, while people who are immunocompromised can get additional doses. It also said the original COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be recommended for use in the United States. Monovalent COVID-19 vaccines from Novavax (NVAX.O) or Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) Janssen were not affected by the changes made today, the agency said.

☆ Australia's AMP says Q1 fund outflows lower, credit quality strong
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Australian financial services firm AMP Ltd (AMP.AX) said on Wednesday net cash outflows for its flagship Australian wealth management business were 30% lower in the March quarter, while the banking unit's credit quality remained strong. The company also said momentum in loan applications was improving, despite higher interest rates in the country. "While economic conditions have become more difficult for some borrowers, AMP Bank's credit quality remains strong," the company said. The flagship Australian wealth management business saw net cash outflows of about A$606 million ($407.84 million) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with A$873 million of outflows a year ago. ($1 = 1.4859 Australian dollars)Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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