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☆ WeWork receives non-compliance notice from NYSE
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 18 (Reuters) - WeWork Inc (WE.N) said on Tuesday that it had received a non-compliance notice from the New York Stock Exchange, as its stock closed below $1 on average over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. Shares of the flexible workspace provider were down 2% at 48 cents in aftermarket trade. The notice will not result in immediate de-listing and the company will have six months to regain compliance, WeWork said. The company benefited from a pandemic-driven shift to flexible work outside traditional offices but has been feeling the impact from mass layoffs across the tech sector. WeWork shares have fallen 65% year to date, resulting in a market capitalization of $360.9 million, according to Refinitiv data.

Top producers have built a war chest to fund acquisitions after reaping windfall profit in 2022 from skyrocketing oil prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At least three analysts have identified Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG.O), Matador Resources Inc (MTDR.N) and Permian Resources Corp (PR.N) as possible takeout targets. The shale patch, which lies between Texas and New Mexico, has the necessary infrastructure and is known for high productivity and large undeveloped reserves. But a surge in oil prices last year helped turn the tide. Last week, ConocoPhillips (COP.N) CEO Ryan Lance said he was expecting more shale deals, adding that "consolidation needs to happen" among Permian Basin energy producers.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates 11 times since December 2021 in a bid to curb soaring inflation, which has squeezed living standards. Anil said last month's banking sector turmoil, sparked by the failure of SVB which spooked investors, could contribute to a broad shake-up in the digital finance sector. "The Bank of England looking at the regulations... is the sensible course to do," Sam Everington, senior executive at British digital bank Starling, told the event in London. Digital finance company bosses said they were confident the sector could weather tough economic conditions, but that pressure was building on business models. Lisa Jacobs, CEO of fintech Funding Circle, said much of the digital finance industry had only ever known low interest rates, but she was confident the industry could still show its value.

The largest U.S. lender gained $50 billion in deposits at the end of March, its first-quarter earnings report showed. That compares to Citigroup Inc (C.N), where deposits were largely flat, and a decline at Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N). Investors have closely scrutinized deposits after the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month rattled markets, prompting regulators to step in to guarantee their customers' deposits. JPMorgan reported a 2% rise in deposits to $2.38 trillion at the end of the quarter compared with the end of 2022. Deposits at Wells Fargo slid 2% to $1.36 trillion as customers moved their money to higher-yielding accounts and products.

☆ Best Buy lays off hundreds of store workers in online push - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N) is cutting store jobs across the United States as the electronics retailer looks to trim costs and shift its business more towards e-commerce, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the situation. The layoff would affect hundreds of jobs across Best Buy's U.S. stores, the report said, adding that the laid off employees could, however, reapply for open positions within the company or receive severance. This week, several store workers who specialize in selling more complex products such as computers and smartphones were told their jobs would be eliminated, the report added. "As we shared last month, we're evolving our stores and the experiences we offer to better reflect the changes in customer shopping behavior, as well as how we organize our teams," Best Buy said. As of January 2023, Best Buy had more than 90,000 employees in the United States and Canada, including about 58% full-time employees, 32% part-time workers and 10% seasonal staff.

☆ BlackRock sells asset-backed bonds from Credit Suisse's books, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 13 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) has hired BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) to help sell a portfolio of structured bonds for the Swiss bank, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory group has been selling off securities over the last two weeks, including pieces of collateralized loan obligations, commercial mortgage bonds and niche asset-backed debt, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. BlackRock declined to comment, while Credit Suisse did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The move comes after the Swiss lender was acquired by UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) in a state-brokered deal. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ American Airlines profit forecast disappoints; shares tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Aishwarya Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) on Wednesday forecast first-quarter profit below market expectations, joining rival United Airlines (UAL.O) in signaling a hit from persistently high labor and fuel costs. "We had expected American to come in towards the better end in a similar manner as JetBlue's guidance update provided in mid-March," Syth added. Airlines' shares in 2023The airline industry has been able to survive the broader economic slowdown in the United States, thanks also to tight airline capacity due to shortages of aircraft and spare parts. On an adjusted basis, it forecast a quarterly per-share profit of between 1 cent and 5 cents, compared with its previous forecast of a near break-even. Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) closed down 1.4%, United was down 6.5% and Delta was down 2.4%.

☆ Air Canada CFO Kazzaz to retire, ex-Bombardier exec Di Bert to take over
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - Air Canada (AC.TO) said on Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Amos Kazzaz would retire at the end of June and be replaced by former Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) executive John Di Bert. Di Bert, who has served as CFO for both Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney Canada, will assume the role at Air Canada on July 1. The change comes at a time when Air Canada, like other North American carriers, faces cost pressures due to a labor shortage amid a rebound in travel. Toronto-listed shares of Air Canada were up about 2% on Tuesday. Reporting by Pratyush Thakur in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ OpenAI to offer users up to $20,000 for reporting bugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - OpenAI, the firm behind chatbot sensation ChatGPT, said on Tuesday that it would offer up to $20,000 to users reporting vulnerabilities in its artificial intelligence systems. OpenAI Bug Bounty program, which went live on Tuesday, will offer rewards to people based on the severity of the bugs they report, with rewards starting from $200 per vulnerability. Technology companies often use bug bounty programs to encourage programmers and ethical hackers to report bugs in their software systems. According to details on bug bounty platform Bugcrowd, OpenAI has invited researchers to review certain functionality of ChatGPT and the framework of how OpenAI systems communicate and share data with third-party applications. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EY calls off plan to split audit, consulting units
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - Accounting firm EY has called off a plan to break up its audit and consulting units, slamming the brakes on a proposed overhaul of its businesses that was meant to address regulatory concerns over potential conflicts of interest. But the plan, code-named "Project Everest", faced resistance from some of EY's partners. The company said its U.S. Executive Committee decided not to move forward with the split. UK auditing and accounting regulator, the Financial Reporting Council, had asked the Big Four firms in 2020 to separate auditing as a standalone business in Britain by June 2024. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shinjini Ganguli and Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Newmont plumps final bid for Australia's Newcrest to $19.5 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Melanie Burton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

If successful, the deal would lift Newmont's gold output to nearly double its nearest rival Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO). Newcrest said on Tuesday it had given U.S.-based Newmont access to its books following the sweetened all-share bid that has received some support from shareholders. The latest bid is 16% higher than Newmont's initial proposal, and represents around a 46% premium to Newcrest's share price on Feb. 3 before Newmont's first bid was announced. Reuters had reported that Newmont was open to raising its offer price for Newcrest. Barrick and miner Sibanye Stillwater Ltd (SSWJ.J) have told Reuters they are not interested in bidding for Newcrest.

☆ Australia's Latitude Group opposed to paying ransom to cyber attack criminals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - Australian consumer finance firm Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (LFS.AX) will not pay a ransom to those behind a cyber attack last month, saying it will be detrimental to customers and cause harm to the broader community by encouraging further attacks. "We will not reward criminal behaviour, nor do we believe that paying a ransom will result in the return or destruction of the information that was stolen," Latitude said in a statement on Tuesday. Latitude, which provides consumer finance services to retailers Harvey Norman (HVN.AX) and JB Hi-Fi (JBH.AX), had also taken its platforms offline. Several Australian firms have reported cyber attacks over the past few months, which experts attribute to an understaffed cyber security industry. Reporting by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Newmont sweetens bid for Australia's Newcrest to $19.5 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Melanie Burton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Newcrest said on Tuesday it had given U.S.-based Newmont access to its books following the sweetened all-share bid. "Newmont has indicated that the revised proposal represents its best and final price in the absence of a competing proposal," Newcrest said in a statement. The latest bid is 16% higher than Newmont's initial proposal, and represents a 46% premium to Newcrest's share price on Feb. 3 before Newmont's bid was announced. Reuters had reported that Newmont was open to raising its offer price for Newcrest. Rival miners Barrick and Sibanye Stillwater Ltd (SSWJ.J) have told Reuters they are not interested in bidding for Newcrest.

☆ Newmont plumps offer for Australia's Newcrest to $19.5 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Melanie Burton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Under the revised offer, Newcrest shareholders would receive 0.400 Newmont share for each share held, with an implied value of A$32.87 a share, up from a previous exchange ratio of 0.380 that Newcrest's board unanimously rejected in February. Newcrest shares rose by as much as 7% to A$30.28 but still traded below the implied offer price. The latest bid is 16% higher than Newmont's initial proposal, and represents a 46% premium to Newcrest's share price on Feb. 3 before Newmont's bid was announced, Newcrest said. Reuters had reported that Newmont was open to raising its offer price for Newcrest. The revised deal is just shy of Glencore's $22.5 billion takeover offer for Canada's Teck Resources Ltd's (TECKb.TO) that was announced earlier this month.

☆ Futures muted as focus shifts to jobs data amid recession fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures mixed: Dow flat, S&P down 0.05%, Nasdaq down 0.24%April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Thursday as investors awaited jobs data to gauge the impact of the Federal Reserve's aggressive policy tightening on the U.S. economy. Weak data from services and manufacturing sectors this week has pointed to slowing growth, fueling hopes in the market of a pause in interest rate hikes. ET, Dow e-minis were up 9 points, or 0.03%; and S&P 500 e-minis were down 2 points, or 0.05%. The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) are on track to notch declines for the first time in four weeks. The U.S. stock market will be shut on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

☆ AI stocks tumble after short-seller attack on C3.ai
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of C3.ai were down 10% in early trading, while those of Thai security firm Guardforce AI (GFAI.O) fell more than 14%. Data analytics firm BigBear.ai (BBAI.N) lost 7% and conversation intelligence company SoundHound AI (SOUN.O) declined 4%. C3.ai was one of the trending stocks on investor-focused social media platform Stocktwits.com. Kerrisdale had disclosed its short position in C3.ai last month and accused the company of "poor customer traction, failing sales partnerships and financial pressures." "It is not necessarily a systemic risk and should not affect other AI stocks near-term.

☆ Walmart sees sustained pressure from inflation; to slow hiring pace
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) said on Wednesday it was expecting inflation to add sustained pressure to its business this year, and that it was planning to slow the pace of hiring as its uses more automation amid a tight labor market. The world's biggest retailer said on Tuesday that about 65% of its stores were expected to employ some form of automation by the end of its fiscal year 2026. Still feeling the effects of higher prices," Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said at the company's investor meeting. Rainey expects inflation at about 3% by the end of the year. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dogecoin jumps as Musk's Twitter flips logo to Shiba Inu dog
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A representation of cryptocurrency dogecoin is seen in front of a stock graph and U.S. dollar in this illustration taken, January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationApril 4 (Reuters) - Dogecoin's Shiba Inu dog replaced Twitter's blue bird as the social media company's logo on Tuesday, helping the meme coin add as much as $4 billion to its market value. loadingWith a market capitalization of $13.7 billion, dogecoin is now the seventh biggest cryptocurrency, according to data site CoinMarketCap.com. Dogecoin more than doubled in October after Musk, dubbed "the dogefather" by retail traders, sealed a $44 billion deal to take over Twitter in October. The shiba inu token, a spinoff of dogecoin which trades in fractions of cents, rose 5.6% to $0.000014.

☆ INDIA RUPEE Rupee to weaken as oil prices jump on unexpected OPEC+ output cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 3 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to open lower versus the U.S. dollar on Monday after a surprise production cut by OPEC+ fuelled a jump in oil prices. The non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open at around 82.35-82.40 to the U.S. dollar compared with 82.1650 in the previous session. A rise in oil prices directly affects the Indian economy and the rupee as the country imports about 83% of its oil requirements, said Anil Bhansali, head treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors. According to estimates by some economists, a 10% hike in oil prices leads to an increase in India’s current account deficit by 0.3% to 0.5% of the GDP. Apart from oil prices, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy decision on Thursday and the U.S. jobs report on Friday will be key for the rupee this week.

☆ Extra Space to buy Life Storage for $12.7 bln in self-storage mega deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Pratyush Thakur | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage (EXR.N) said on Monday it will acquire Life Storage (LSI.N) for $12.7 billion in a deal that will result in the combined company becoming the largest U.S. self-storage space operator by store count. Life Storage, which operates more than 1,150 storage facilities in 37 states and the District of Columbia, in February turned down a $11 billion all-stock takeover bid from Public Storage (PSA.N). Life Storage shares were up 3.5%, while Extra Space shares were down 5.1%. On deal close, Extra Space and Life Storage shareholders are expected to own about 65% and 35% of the combined company. The board of Extra Space will be expanded from 10 directors to 12 and consist of three directors from Life Storage.

☆ Tesla shares slip as margin worries overshadow record deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares fell 5% on Monday, dragged down by growing worries about the electric-vehicle maker's profit margins after aggressive price cuts led to only a modest increase in quarterly deliveries. After slashing prices on its vehicles by as much as 20% in January, Tesla posted record deliveries of 422,875 vehicles in the first quarter but they were up just 4% on the prior quarter. Bernstein analysts said Tesla "will need to further lower prices this year and/or next year to achieve its volume targets, incrementally pressuring margins." "We maintain that price cuts have and will undermine industry profitability (including Tesla's), but that incumbents are deep pocketed and not likely to back down," they added. Tesla shares were trading at $197, having gained 9% last week in the run-up to the deliveries report.

According to the industry analysis firm's report, Tesla's average installations per week were 21 in 2022, far lower than the company's 1,000-per-week target for 2021. loadingWood Mackenzie said its analysis on Tesla's Solar Roof relies on data from several states, but it captures the largest markets such as California - the state where most of the roofs have been installed - and "paints an accurate national picture". "GAF Energy's Timberline Solar roofing system is better-positioned to achieve widespread adoption," said Max Issokson, analyst at Wood Mackenzie. The potential of Tesla's Solar Roof will rely on the company's ability to simplify and streamline installations and tap into a broader customer base, Issokson added. Solar Roof and GAF Energy's Timberline Solar, which was launched last year, are roofing shingles that can produce solar power.

☆ TSX rises for fifth day as Filo Mining gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ET (14:11 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was up 55.48 points, or 0.28%, at 19,893.13. Filo Mining Corp (FIL.TO) shares rose 4.8% after CIBC started the coverage of the miner with an "outperform" rating and a target price of C$38. Canadian equities are set to end the first quarter at 3% higher if gains hold. "Things are feeling a lot better than they did a few weeks ago, so people are allocating back to equities heading into quarter end," said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments. After a recent spike in investor concerns about a financial meltdown, banks (.GSPTXBA) are set to end the quarter down more than 1%.

☆ Futures rise as bank fears ebb, focus shifts to key inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Investors will now watch out for February data on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - that is due on Friday for further clues on the central bank's rate-hike trajectory. Traders' bets are still tilted towards a pause in rate hikes in May, with rate cuts expected soon after that. Final estimates for quarterly U.S. economic growth are expected to confirm gross domestic product likely remained unchanged at 2.7% in the fourth quarter. ET, Dow e-minis were up 145 points, or 0.44%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15.75 points, or 0.39%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 32.5 points, or 0.25%. Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK to examine Broadcom's $61 bln VMware deal in depth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A smartphone with a displayed Broadcom logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoMarch 29 (Reuters) - Britain said it would investigate Broadcom's (AVGO.O) acquisition of VMware (VMW.N) in depth after the U.S. chipmaker offered no immediate undertakings in response to its concerns about the impact of the $61 billion deal on the server market. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said earlier this month that Broadcom's acquisition of the cloud computing and virtualisation company could drive up the cost of computer parts and software for servers. Broadcom said earlier this month that it was working constructively with the regulator and it would demonstrate that the deal would enhance competition and would benefit businesses and consumers. Reporting by Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Anil D'Silva and William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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