DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Ladbrokes owner Entain warns on online gaming revenue
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Ladbrokes owner Entain (ENT.L) warned on its online net gaming revenues for the third quarter and the full-year on Monday, as the British gambling firm grapples with ongoing regulation in the industry, particularly in the UK, and slower growth in Australia and Italy. The owner of online brands bwin and partypoker, said it expects third-quarter online net gaming revenue to be down by "high single digit percent" on a pro-forma basis. It also expects group online gaming revenue for the full year to be down "low single digit percent" on a pro-forma basis. Meanwhile, sports-betting service BetMGM, which Entain jointly owns with MGM Resorts (MGM.N) was on track to report positive core profit in the second half and full-year gaming revenues at the top end of its expectations, the British company said. ($1 = 0.8170 pounds)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Entain, Eva Mathews, Eileen Soreng, Louise Heavens Organizations: MGM Resorts, Turkish, Thomson Locations: Australia, Italy, London, Bengaluru

Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. auto workers expanded their strike on Friday with a clear target for distress: dealers who sell and service GM and Stellantis vehicles. The strategy of choking parts delivery increases problems for some dealers who say it already had been difficult to source some components. The broader strike, which targets 38 parts distribution centers owned by GM and Stellantis, "is going to have these shops telling their customers 'We don't know when we can fix your vehicle. "It's definitely going to impact customers," said Thomas Morris, 60, who went on strike on Friday at a General Motors parts distribution center in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The center serves GM dealerships from Pennsylvania to Maine, moving some 30,000 parts for auto repairs each day, workers said.

Persons: Richard Fasulo, Howard Drake, Mike Stanton, It's, Thomas Morris, Stellantis, Arthur Wheaton, Brad Sowers, Jim Butler, he'll, Abhirup Roy, Doyinsola, Jarrett Renshaw, Peter Henderson Organizations: Cadillac, GM, National Association of Auto Dealers, UAW, Motors, Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Jim Butler Auto Group, Chevrolet, Thomson Locations: Wappinger , New York, California, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maine, St.Louis , Missouri, San Francisco, New York, Pennyslvania

☆ British retail sales grow in August after washout in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - British retail sales partially recovered in August after a rainy July washout, official figures showed on Friday, adding to signs that the country's consumers were mostly coping with the cost-of-living squeeze. Sales volumes rose by 0.4% on a month-on-month basis after a sharp 1.1% fall in July, the Office for National Statistics said. "These were partially offset by internet sales, which dropped slightly as some people returned to shopping in person following a very wet July. However, August's data represented the sixth time so far in 2023 that sales volumes rose on a month-to-month basis, suggesting resilience in consumer demand. Retail sales volumes were 1.4% lower than a year earlier, the ONS said, compared with economists' forecasts for a 1.2% decline.

Persons: Phil Noble, Heather Bovill, GfK, BoE, William Schomberg, James Davey, William James, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, National Statistics, Reuters, Office, Bank of England, British Foods, Thomson Locations: Altrincham, Britain

☆ UK stocks open lower after Fed's hawkish stance; BoE on watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) was down 0.5% by 0710 GMT, while mid-cap stocks (.FTMC) dipped 0.4%. The Fed held its interest rates steady on Wednesday, but stiffened a hawkish monetary policy stance that its officials increasingly believe can succeed in combating inflation. Asian stocks tracked the lacklustre mood in U.S. peers on Wednesday after the Fed revised its economic projections. JD Sports Fashion (JD.L) climbed nearly 6% to the top of FTSE 100 after the sportswear retailer forecast a higher annual profit.

Persons: Toby Melville, BoE, Siddarth, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Bank of, Fed, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, London, Bengaluru

☆ Condom-shy India arouses interest of global contraceptive makers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Kashish Tandon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Such is the trend that the market is set to more than double to $1.7 billion by 2030, showed data from GrandView Research. By contrast, 19% of U.S. men use condoms every time they have sex, showed data from the National Center for Health Statistics. World Bank data showed that, in 2021, per capita gross domestic product crossed $2,000 - a threshold at which, in China in 2006, consumption jumped. Britain's Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT.L) has launched new products under its Durex brand and expanded its "Birds and the Bees" rural marketing campaign. SOCIAL MEDIAIndia's market leader is domestic manufacturer Mankind Pharma (MNKI.NS) with a 33% share, ahead of Reckitt Benckiser at 14%, TechSci data showed.

Persons: Kazuhiro Kamio, Okamoto, Arvind Singhal, Miah Kiat Goh, Dwight, Mankind, Ashita Aggarwal, Kashish Tandon, Sumit Khanna, Rocky Swift, Dhanya Skariachan, Christopher Cushing Organizations: GrandView Research, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Okamoto Industries, National Center for Health Statistics, Technopak Advisors, Reuters, United Nations, Benckiser, ., Mankind Pharma, Social, Jain Institute of Management & Research, HDFC Securities Institutional, View Research, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Europe, Japan, China, U.S, S.P, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Rocky, Tokyo

☆ Fact Check-CNN headline about cannibalism at Burning Man is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A screenshot of an article on CNN’s homepage titled “Burning Man attendees unable to leave desert, resort to cannibalism” is fabricated, a spokesperson for the outlet said. “Burning Man festival turns into Cannibalism festival? #CNN #burningman,” reads a post sharing a collage featuring the fabricated CNN headline on Facebook (bit.ly/44ORGHT). “This image is fabricated and not something that appeared on the CNN.com homepage,” Emily Kuhn, a CNN spokesperson, said in an email to Reuters. CNN did not report on cannibalism at the 2023 Burning Man festival.

Persons: ” Emily Kuhn, revelers, Read Organizations: CNN, Facebook, CNN.com, Reuters

Reuters GraphicsReuters spoke to four shareholders that have launched activist campaigns who said that some big consumer goods companies are ripe for executive changes after failing to impress. Reuters GraphicsMany large consumer goods companies generally hold low levels of debt and are cash generative, said André Medeiros, managing director and Alvarez & Marsal's EMEA consumer and retail leader. 'ADVOCATING FOR MANAGEMENT CHANGE'Gianluca Ferrari, founding partner of investor Clearway Capital, said his firm had some consumer companies on its radar but declined to name them. He did not identify specific executives nor disclose the nature of his work with consumer companies. In October, Reuters reported that Peltz had approached former CEOs of consumer goods companies as candidates for the Unilever top job.

Persons: Danone's, Emmanuel Faber, David Samra, Samra, Alvarez, Marsal, André Medeiros, Nelson Peltz, Artisan's Samra, We're, Peltz, Heinz, Gianluca Ferrari, Ferrari, Clearway, Glanbia, Faber, Bluebell, Nicolas Ceron, Ceron, underperformance, Kraft Heinz, KHC.O, Andrew Hayes, Russell Reynolds, John Long, Korn, Long, Alan Jope departure's, Unilever's, Graeme Pitkethly, Hein Schumacher, Heinz's, Bill Johnson, Nelson, Richa Naidu, Matt Scuffham, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Artisan Partners, Reuters, Danone, Evian, Unilever, Consumer Products, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Marsal's EMEA, Billionaire, Artisan, Cadbury Schweppes, Heinz, Trian, Bluebell Capital, shareholders, Bluebell, Diageo, Russell Reynolds Associates, Thomson Locations: York, H.J, Frankfurt, Western Europe, North America

This is because blast furnaces operate around the clock and need more workers. Goncalves is also betting that producing iron ore in-house for blast furnaces, rather than sourcing scrap steel for electric arc furnaces, will give Cliffs a competitive edge. While a few carmakers use aluminum for automotive bodies, most prefer high-grade steel from blast furnaces. Cliffs' devotion to blast furnaces, which are unionized unlike some electric arc furnaces, won it the support of United Steelworkers. The union's international president Thomas Conway said it's backing Cliffs' bid for U.S. Steel because of Goncalves' commitment to blast furnaces.

Persons: Lawrence Bryant, Lourenco Goncalves, Goncalves, Josh Spoores, Donald Trump, Phil Gibbs, Thomas Conway, Joe Biden's, Isla Binnie, Bianca Flowers, Greg Roumeliotis, Daniel Wallis Organizations: U.S . Steel, U.S . Steel Granite City, REUTERS, Cliffs Inc, U.S, U.S . Steel Corp, AK Steel, CRU Group, Steel Dynamics, Steel, Reuters, United Steelworkers, Thomson Locations: U.S . Steel Granite, Granite City , Illinois, U.S, CHICAGO, United States, Cleveland, North America, Asia, Toledo , Ohio, New York, Chicago

☆ Trump's Top 5 defenses in his massive NY financial fraud case, in his own words
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementHere are Trump's top five business fraud defenses – in his own words – as revealed in a recently-unsealed deposition transcript. New York attorney general's officeTrying to pass the blame won't work, two attorneys who used to work for previous New York attorneys general told Insider. And you're suing them instead of going after violent criminals," he scolded the attorney general and her lawyers. Then there's the $250 million Trump allegedly pocketed by lying about the size of his collateral. 3: his math is "worthless"At the center of the attorney general's case are a decade's worth of Trump's Statements of Financial Condition.

Persons: Trump, Donald Trump, Letitia James, James, Andrew S, Amer, Kevin C, Wallace, Brittainy Newman, Eric, I've, Mazars, We're, I'm, general's, Kenneth Foard McCallion, Tristan Snell, –, Susan Watts, they'd, Snell, McCallion, Donald Trump's, Laura Italiano, Kathy Willens, Jennifer S, Altman, Carlo Allegri, John Minchillo, Drew Angerer, George Washington, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, He's Organizations: Trump Org, Service, York, New York State, New York, AP Trump, Trump Organization, New, Trump University, Trump, Deutsche Bank, NY Daily, Getty, Associated Press Deutsche Bank, McCallion, Associates, Washington, MSNBC, Reuters, U.S, Marriott Marquis Locations: NY, Wall, Silicon, Manhattan, New York, Trump's, Trump Tower, Manhattan , NY, . New York, Trump, New York City, Springs, Westchester County , New York, Mount Kisco, N.Y, Washington ,, Miami

☆ US FDA warns 3 baby formula makers to correct manufacturing process controls
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. The FDA pulled up these companies for failing to establish processes to ensure infant formula does not become contaminated during manufacturing. The recalls were meant to remove products potentially contaminated with the bacteria cronobacter sakazakii, the FDA added. "The agency... believes that the recalls were effective in removing the potentially contaminated batches of product from the market," the FDA said. Infant formula manufacturing is under greater scrutiny following the shortage of the product last year due to a shutdown of Abbott Laboratories' (ABT.N) unit in Michigan.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Benckiser, Mead Johnson, Perrigo, ByHeart, Leroy Leo, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, FDA, REUTERS, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, ByHeart Inc, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Abbott Laboratories, Thomson Locations: White Oak , Maryland, U.S, PRGO.N, Wisconsin, Michigan, Bengaluru

☆ Fact Check-Video shows Arma 3 game, not Russian and Ukrainian planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of fighter jets shows a modified version of the Arma 3 video game, according to the game’s creator, not a Russian SU-57 shooting down NATO F-16 fighters in Ukraine, as claimed in online posts. Comments on the post suggest that some viewers recognize the video from the Arma 3 game, while others respond as though the footage shows real combat, including: “I didn’t know NATO was engaged in a fight . The company’s gameplay footage is often shared online by users as if it shows real altercations. At the end of 2022, Bohemia Interactive published a statement and video outlining how to detect Arma 3 video game footage shared online, including unnatural particle effects and poor resolution quality. The video shows modified video from the Arma 3 game.

Persons: ”, ” Pavel Krizka, Read Organizations: NATO, Fighters, Bohemia Interactive, Reuters Locations: Russian, Ukraine, NATO, Bohemia

☆ Fact Check-Video of plummeting fiery plane predates Prigozhin-linked crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Prigozhin-linked jet crashed Aug. 23 in an area north of Moscow and killed all 10 people on board, including the Wagner boss and the group’s commander Dmitry Utkin, according to Russian authorities. The Facebook and Twitter posts were written in English, while the TikTok posts were spotted in Ukrainian and Russian. But Reuters traced the video to June 24, 2023, when it was shared online in relation to a plane crash in Russia’s Voronezh region during the aborted Wagner mutiny (t.me/c/1732054517/20231, t.me/c/1732054517/20231 and here ). Russian media outlet Fontanka said the video captured the crash of an IL-22 near Kantemirovka (here). The video can be traced back to at least June 2023, thus predating the Aug. 23 crash.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Dmitry Utkin, uploaders, Fontanka, Read Organizations: Reuters, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram Locations: Moscow, Russia’s Voronezh, Russian, Kantemirovka

☆ Teen hacked Uber, Revolut and Grand Theft Auto maker, London jury finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - A teenage member of the Lapsus$ hacking group was on Wednesday found to have hacked Uber (UBER.N) and fintech firm Revolut then blackmailed the developers of best-selling videogame Grand Theft Auto after a trial at a London court. Arion Kurtaj, 18, embarked on a solo cyber crime spree in September 2022, first targeting Revolut before hacking Uber two days later. The teen then hacked Rockstar Games and threatened to release the planned Grand Theft Auto sequel's source code in a Slack message sent to all Rockstar staff. Kurtaj had previously hacked and blackmailed Britain's biggest broadband provider BT Group (BT.L) and mobile operator EE in 2021 and later chip maker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) in February 2022. The jury on Wednesday found Kurtaj committed 12 offences, including three counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud and six charges under the Computer Misuse Act.

Persons: Revolut, Arion Kurtaj, Kurtaj, Sam Tobin, William James Our Organizations: Rockstar Games, Rockstar, Southwark Crown, BT Group, Nvidia Corp, Computer, Thomson Locations: London, Southwark

☆ Fact Check-Kyiv street sprinklers predate Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Posts online suggest the sprinkler system had been funded by U.S. funds sent to support Ukraine’s war efforts against Russia. Reuters images from 2019, taken in central Kyiv, show the same water sprinkler system (reut.rs/45xNzRm) and (reut.rs/47yQdIc). Reuters photographer Gleb Garanich confirmed the location of the images as Khreschatyk Street. Photos dating to 2019 on photo hosting website Alamy also show the water sprinkler system on Khreschatyk Street (here), (here). Water sprinklers in central Kyiv predate U.S. assistance to Ukraine during its war with Russia.

Persons: “, Mr, Biden, Gleb Garanich, Alamy, Read Organizations: U.S, Facebook, Reuters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russia, U.S

Official data showed sales volumes last month were 1.2% lower than in June. Food stores sales volumes fell by a monthly 2.6% while non-food stores sales volumes fell by 1.7%. However, July's data represented only the second time that sales volumes fell on a month-to-month basis so far in 2023, suggesting resilience in consumer demand. Market research firm GfK reported last month that consumer confidence fell in July for the first time since January. Retail sales volumes were 3.2% lower than a year earlier, the ONS said, compared with economists' forecasts for a 2.1% decline.

Persons: Sterling, Heather Bovill, Ruth Gregory, GfK, Samuel Tombs, BoE, Tombs, Spencer, James Davey, Kate Holton, Susan Fenton Organizations: Reuters, Office, National Statistics, Department, Bank of England, Capital Economics, Macroeconomics, Thomson

The logo of Tyson Foods is seen in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. While it was not immediately clear what valuation Tyson Foods is seeking for the China poultry business, it has annual sales of about $1.1 billion, one of the people said. Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Calls to Tyson Foods' China headquarters in Shanghai went unanswered. In the food industry, U.S. agricultural giant Cargill struck a deal in May to sell its China poultry business to private equity firm DCP Capital for an undisclosed price.

Persons: Arnd, Goldman Sachs, Tyson, Cargill, Hope Liuhe, Kane Wu, Abigail Summerville, Roxanne Liu, Tom Polansek, Jamie Freed Organizations: Tyson Foods, REUTERS, HONG KONG, Goldman, Capital, Reckitt, Primavera Capital Group, Industrial, Thomson Locations: Davos, Switzerland, HONG, China, Springdale , Arkansas, Shanghai, Russia, Ukraine, Mongolia, Nantong, Xiaogan, Hong Kong, New York, Beijing, Chicago

☆ Fact Check-Clip of 2014 Russian gas station explosion edited to add light beam
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A clip of a 2014 explosion at a gas station in Russia has been edited to make it appear as if a light beam was responsible for the fire. The earliest iteration Reuters could find of the unedited video was uploaded by a Russian news agency RIA Dagestan on Aug. 9, 2014 (timestamp 1:10) (youtu.be/-zvo7xXs-T0?t=72). The explosion was caused by a gas leak in the city of Makhachkala in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, an RIA Dagestan report said (here). Reuters located the video to Prospekt Imama Shamilya, Makhachkala – the same location listed in the RIA Dagestan report (bit.ly/3saxAtT). The video has been online since at least August 2014 where no such beam can be seen before the explosion.

Persons: Read Organizations: Naval Research, Reuters Locations: Russia, Russian, Dagestan, Makhachkala, Russia’s Republic of Dagestan

☆ World Cup fuels surge in women's sports betting, but early kick-offs weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Yadarisa Shabong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Entain (ENT.L), owner of Ladbrokes and Coral brands, said it saw "exponential growth" in betting on the sport and a record number of women globally placing bets. The first three England games saw one-fifth of bets placed by women, it said. Betting on the co-host and semi-finalist Australia saw a 200% increase, fuelled by the Matildas strong run. Soccer leads the way in terms of the number of people betting and placing bets, and the number of women betting on women's soccer has doubled annually, the study said. Entain did not immediately disclose the number of bets placed on the World Cup.

Persons: Alishia, William Hill, Lee Phelps, Entain, Dominic Grounsell, Yadarisa, Conor Humphries Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, Australian High Commission, Australia, England, REUTERS, German Sport University Cologne, Soccer, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, London, Australia, Britain, Bengaluru

☆ Britain's M&S raises profit outlook after strong trading
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A Marks and Spencer logo is seen on an advertisement outside of a store in London, Britain, May 23, 2018. The 139-year old group, whose shares have risen 66% so far this year, said it now expected profit growth in its full 2023-24 year, having previously forecast a small decline. Clothing group Next (NXT.L) upgraded its profit forecast earlier this month, lifting it for the second time in three months. M&S said in the first 19 weeks of the year like-for-like food sales grew over 11%, while clothing & home sales were up over 6% on the same basis. Clive Black at Shore Capital, the house broker, said sentiment around M&S had taken a long time to improve after other turnarounds failed to materialise, but he lifted his profit outlook by 9%.

Persons: Marks, Spencer, Toby Melville, Stuart Machin, Clive Black, James Davey, Yadarisa, Rashmi Aich, Kate Holton, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Marks, Shore Capital, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bengaluru

☆ Fact Check-John Daly’s remarks on Megan Rapinoe’s missed kick stem from parody
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Her kick was as straight as her - sideways.’”An iteration with over 2,100 reactions on Facebook is viewable (here). Its handle is a misspelling of PGA Tour, the professional golf tour organization in the United States (twitter.com/PGATOUR). There are no credible reports that Daly made any such public remarks about Rapinoe (archive.ph/IZizd), (bit.ly/3qmoCZY). Rapinoe played her last World Cup with the women’s national team on Sunday, missing her kick in the penalty-shoot out against Sweden (here). These remarks were originally posted by a parody account on platform X.

Persons: John Daly, Megan Rapinoe’s, “ John Daly, Daly, Rapinoe, Read Organizations: Tour, women’s, Reuters Locations: United States, Sweden

☆ Fact Check-No evidence of Kari Lake X social media post calling Trump supporters obese
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

There is no evidence that former TV anchor and defeated Republican 2022 mid-term gubernatorial candidate, Kari Lake, posted a remark on social media calling those who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 elections obese. A screenshot appears to show a post published by Lake via X, formally known as Twitter, on Nov. 9. A search through Lake’s posts at the time does not reveal any posts commiserating Trump’s 2016 victory (ghostarchive.org/archive/bELBA). The earliest iteration Reuters could find of the image stems from a Reddit post published on Nov 4, 2022 (here) and later, via the meme website iFunny, posted on Nov. 8, 2022 (here). Reuters found no evidence that such a post was published by Lake.

Persons: Kari Lake, Donald Trump, Taft, Lake didn’t, Read Organizations: Republican, Reuters, Lake

☆ Fact Check-Video shows Sicilian theatre, not child sacrifice den
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Information about performances part of the 2022/2023 theatrical season at Teatro Donnafugata is viewable on the website (here), (here). Teatro Donnafugata has also been documented by visitors on Google Maps (goo.gl/maps/RtFsf9f6xAkE3dph6) and Tripadvisor (bit.ly/3qnqkKD ); as well by the theatre itself on its social media channels (youtu.be/GsL6i7rgH1M?t=348), (here), (here). Teatro Donnafugata did not respond to a request for comment. This video shows Teatro Donnafugata, a small threatre underneath a palace in Sicily that is open to the public. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts (here).

Persons: Arturo Brachetti, ”, Vicky Di Quattro, “ Vicky, Bracchetti, Donnafugata, Read Organizations: Facebook, Reuters, Teatro, Google, Donnafugata Locations: Sicily, Italian, Ragusa Ibla

☆ Britain's Bellway says new home sales to fall 'materially'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoAug 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Bellway (BWY.L) said on Wednesday it would build fewer homes this year and warned that it expects sales completions to drop "materially" amid a sharp housing sector slowdown triggered by higher mortgage rates. Bellway said it built 10,945 homes in the fiscal year ended July 31, slightly down from the guidance of 11,000 units. "In the current financial year, given the level of the order book and prevailing low reservation rates, legal completions are expected to decrease materially," it said in a statement. Bellway, whose builds range from one-bedroom apartments to six-bedroom family homes, said its full-year overall reservation rate fell 28.4% to 156 per week, and it also saw a steep fall from 190 units during the Feb. 1-June 4 period. Bellway's mid-cap competitors Crest Nicholson (CRST.L) and Vistry (VTYV.L) have said high mortgage rates were hampering demand from first-time buyers.

Persons: Toby Melville, Bellway, Barratt, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Suban Abdulla, Subhranshu Sahu, Paul Sandle, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, FTSE, Berkeley, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Newcastle, England, Bengaluru

☆ British water companies face $1 bln lawsuits over pollution - law firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Environmental and water consultant Carolyn Roberts, who plans to bring the claims, says water companies would have faced penalties if they had properly reported pollution incidents. The firm said it will also be filing cases against five other companies – Thames Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water – in the coming months. Water companies have pushed back against the proposed claims, describing them as "highly speculative". A Thames Water spokesperson said the company was aware of the potential claim, which they said was without merit. Water companies have avoided being penalised by regulator Ofwat for "serial and serious under-reporting" of pollution incidents, she said in a statement.

Persons: Trent, Darren Staples, Carolyn Roberts, Roberts, Leigh Day, Severn, Sam Tobin, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Severn Trent, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Environment Agency, Water, Thomson Locations: Cropston, England, British, United, Water, Yorkshire, United States

☆ Fact Check-Illinois bill only allows certain non-citizens to become police officers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Illinois House Bill 3751 only allows non-citizens who are eligible to work in the U.S. and are authorized to possess firearms under federal law to become police officers. Contrary to confusion on social media, the bill does not extend this right to all non-citizens or those who are not legally allowed to work in the country. The text in one Facebook post (here) reads: “Illinois Governor signs bill allowing illegals to become police officers. They CAN’T!”“Illinois Governor signs bill allowing illegal aliens to become police officers and arrest US citizens,” reads another post (here). Illinois House Bill 3751 allows non-citizens who are eligible to work in the U.S. under federal law to become police officers.

Persons: Bill, Olivia Kuncio, Illinois Governor J.B, Pritzker, That’s, “ DACA, ”, Lauren Aronson, “, Kuncio, ” Aronson, Read Organizations: Illinois Governor, Reuters, U.S . Citizenship, Immigration Services, federal, University of Illinois College of Law, Illinois Locations: Illinois, U.S, “ Illinois, United States, California

Search resuls for: "T.L"

25 mentions found