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☆ ECB's IT head named as next German cybersecurity chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Claudia Plattner, the European Central Bank's director general for information systems, was named as Germany's next cybersecurity chief on Tuesday, filling a position left empty for months after the previous head was fired following reports of possible Russia ties. Plattner, a trained mathematician who has held her ECB role since July 2021, will take over as head of the BSI cybersecurity agency starting July 1, the German interior ministry said in a statement. Her predecessor, Arne Schoenbohm, was fired in October and an investigation was launched into his conduct after media allegations that he may have come into contact with Russian security circles through a consultancy he co-founded. Schoenbohm said in October he had himself asked the ministry to launch an investigation. Writing by Miranda Murray Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ From Beyoncé to Taylor Swift: 7 women who made history at the 2023 Grammys
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and more female artists broke records and saw historic wins across several categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards. The winners were announced on Sunday during two different ceremonies in Los Angeles, honoring the best music of the year across a wide range of genres. Here are seven women who made history with their wins at the 2023 Grammys:BeyoncéRobert Gauthier | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesBeyoncé is now the winningest artist in Grammys history thanks to a quartet of awards for her album "Renaissance." Viola DavisTimothy Norris | Filmmagic | Getty ImagesThe 57-year-old actress earned EGOT status at the 2023 Grammy Awards, making her the third Black woman in history to achieve the rare and coveted honor. Germaine FrancoJay L. Clendenin | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesGermaine Franco won best score soundtrack for visual media for composing the Disney animated film "Encanto."

☆ Actor Viola Davis achieves elite EGOT status with Grammy win
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Actor Viola Davis on Sunday won a Grammy for her audio recording of her memoir "Finding Me," granting her entry into the elite ranks of EGOT winners with an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Davis is the third Black woman to earn this title, and the 18th person in history, and was thrilled to celebrate the moment on stage. as she won a Grammy for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording. "I wrote this book to honor the six-year-old Viola, to honor her, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma, her everything." Other EGOT winners include Jennifer Hudson, Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn and Whoopi Goldberg.

☆ Firefighters battle dozens of wildfires in Chile, death toll at 22
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Dozens of wildfires blazing though Chile caused the government to extend an emergency order to another region on Saturday, as a scorching summer heatwave complicates efforts to control fires that have claimed at least 22 lives so far. On Friday, an emergency-support helicopter in La Araucania crashed, killing its pilot and a mechanic, according to officials. The orders allow for the deployment of soldiers and additional resources to deal with the natural disaster. National forestry agency CONAF reported on Saturday that 80 of 231 total wildfires are being actively battled, while 151 of them are under control. Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Natalia Ramos Miranda Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bosch says Chinese recovery is key to 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN/STUTTGART, Feb 3 (Reuters) - German automotive supplier Bosch considers recovery in China as key to success this year, it said on Friday, steering clear of concrete forecasts despite reporting a more than 15% jump in full-year operating profit. It was hugely dampened last year," Chief Executive Stefan Hartung said of the Chinese market, adding that he expects the European and U.S. economies to weaken because of rising interest rates. Demand in 2022 remained weaker than before the pandemic, but Bosch sales benefited from strong demand for climate-friendly technology from carmakers and those seeking alternative fuel sources to Russian gas, the private company said. "Despite semiconductor shortages and a weak economy, all business sectors were able to increase their sales," said finance chief Markus Forschner. Pushed by Germany's attempt to wean itself off Russian gas, demand for energy efficient heat pumps rose last year, with sales jumping 50%, Bosch said, adding that it will expand its manufacturing capacity for heat pumps in Europe.

☆ Infineon Q1 revenue comes in slightly below expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Infineon (IFXGn.DE), a leading supplier of microchips to the auto industry, on Thursday bumped up its segment result margin outlook for fiscal 2023 to adjust for currency effects as it came in slightly below revenue expectations for its first quarter. The Munich-based company's revenue fell 5% from the previous quarter to 3.95 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in the quarter ending Dec. 31, slightly under the 4 billion euros expected in a poll of analysts by Vara Research published on Jan. 24. Infineon's segment result margin rose to 28.0% from 25.5% the previous quarter, beating expectations of 24.7%. Infineon also said investments for the full year are still expected to amount to approximately 3 billion euros. For the second quarter, Infineon expects revenue of around 3.9 billion euros and a segment result margin of around 25%.

[1/2] Two sportsmen sail near an offshore wind turbine of the Siemens Gamesa company is seen from the Telde coast on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, May 2, 2022. REUTERS/Borja SuarezFRANKFURT/MADRID, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Beleaguered wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa (SGREN.MC), soon to be delisted and folded into parent Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE), said on Thursday its first-quarter net loss more than doubled on higher warranty provisions as a result of faulty components. The net loss in the October-December period, Siemens Gamesa's fiscal first quarter, widened to 884 million euros ($974 million) from 403 million in the same period last year, the company said. "The negative development in our service business underscores that we have much work ahead of us to stabilize our business and return to profitability," said Siemens Gamesa Chief Executive Jochen Eickholt, who joined from Siemens Energy last year. Still, Siemens Gamesa confirmed the outlook for the wind industry remained good, pointing to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act as well as the continent's RePowerEU programme aimed at ditching fossil fuels.

☆ Volkswagen considering battery cell factory in Ontario - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is looking at setting up a battery cell factory in Ontario, Canada, the Handelsblatt business daily reported on Tuesday, adding that the province had offered investments and other incentives to win over the carmaker. Five entries from January 2023 are listed in a lobby register of the Canadian province for Volkswagen, including one that mentions Chief Executive Oliver Blume by name, the report said, citing the documents. The carmaker confirmed in December it was searching for a site for a battery cell plant in North America, and Blume said at the time that Canada was "one logical option". The documents seen by Handelsblatt said that Ontario wanted to be "considered in competition with other locations in consideration." Reporting by Jan C Schwartz, Victoria Waldersee, Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German retail sales post shock fall in December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 31 (Reuters) - German retail sales unexpectedly fell in December, as a Christmas shopping period weighed down by high inflation and the energy crisis revived fears of a more marked slowdown in Europe's largest economy this winter, data showed on Tuesday. Retail sales decreased by 5.3% in December compared with the previous month, the federal statistics office said. Retail sales also fell year-on-year in December by 6.4% in real terms, the office said"Just before Christmas, retailers in German city centres missed the big rush," said VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel. The federal statistics office publishes more detailson retail sales on its website. Reporting by Miranda Murray and Friederike Heine, editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German economy unexpectedly shrinks in Q4
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The German economy unexpectedly fell in the fourth quarter, data showed on Monday, a sign that Europe's largest economy may be entering a much-predicted recession as an effect of the Ukraine war. Gross domestic product decreased 0.2% quarter on quarter in adjusted terms, the federal statistics office said. A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast the economy would stagnate. In the previous quarter, the German economy grew slightly by an upwardly revised 0.5% quarter on quarter. The German government last week revised up its economic forecast for 2023 and now foresees GDP growing by 0.2%, up from an autumn forecast of a 0.4% decline.

☆ Grand Central's sparkling new terminal could use a spellcheck — it misspelled artist Georgia O'Keeffe's name in an engraved quote about New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new terminal for the Long Island Rail Road in New York's Grand Central Station opened Wednesday. The terminal's walls are engraved with homages to New York from famous artists. In a new terminal in New York's Grand Central Station that opened last Wednesday, called the Grand Central Madison station, O'Keeffe's name is spelled with one "f" instead of two, Bloomberg reported. That's the quote that made it into the Grand Central Madison station. Bloomberg reported that the Grand Central Madison terminal is part of an $11.1 billion project called East Side Access that will bring passengers on the Long Island Railroad to Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal instead of Penn Station.

☆ Leaked Oracle org chart shows the top execs reporting to Larry Ellison after cloud leader Don Johnson's abrupt departure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Oracle's internal org chart shows the eight executives who report to chairman and CTO Larry Ellison. An internal Oracle organization chart shows the executives left reporting to cofounder Larry Ellison after cloud and health leader Don Johnson left the company. Johnson spent four years running Oracle's cloud business, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, before stepping back in the last year. Larry Ellison Executive chairman and chief technology officer Andy Mendelsohn Executive vice president, Oracle Database Clay Magouyrk Executive vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Edward Screven Executive vice president and chief corporate architect Jeff Henley Executive vice chairman Juan Loaiza Executive vice president, Mission Critical Database Technologies Steve Miranda Executive vice president, Applications Development T.K. Anand Executive vice president, Analytics Maddie Giammona Executive assistantDo you work at Oracle or have insight to share?

☆ Germany's Bosch to increase stake in Sweden's Husqvarna to 12%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Shares in Husqvarna, a garden equipment company, were up 12.6% by 0839 GMT following the announcement of the deal. The garden equipment company makes outdoor power products, consumer watering products, cutting equipment and diamond tools for construction and stone industries. Bosch's power tools division set up a "Power for All Alliance" together with Husqvarna subsidiary Gardena in 2020. The 10-brand alliance features products relating to all home-based activities for the European market, Bosch said. The German company has so far bought less than 5% of Husqvarna shares and has an agreement for around 7% more, a Bosch spokesperson said.

[1/2] A trader works at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 22, 2022. REUTERS/Timm Reichert/File PhotoBERLIN/LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - German web hosting firm IONOS is targeting a market capitalisation of up to 3.15 billion euros ($3.42 billion) in Europe's first major initial public offering (IPO) since sports car maker Porsche last September. Subject to regulatory approval of the IPO prospectus, the offer is expected to run from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7. IPO investors are typically offered a discount to a peer group in compensation for the risk of buying a new stock. Montabaur-based IONOS offers web hosting services and cloud applications to consumers and SMEs in countries including the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Spain and Poland.

☆ Perella Weinberg puts employee in insider trading probe on leave -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The advisory firm Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP.O) has placed an employee who is being investigated as part of an insider trading probe in Germany on leave, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. On Thursday, German authorities said they were investigating five suspects, including one who was in custody, for allegedly profiting on upcoming M&A transactions between 2017 and 2021. Perella said in a statement: "The firm is assisting in an investigation by German law enforcement authorities. The firm is not the subject of the investigation, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the firm." The Perella employee is based in London, the two people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

☆ Germany accuses Russia of twisting minister's war comments for 'propaganda'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Russia has twisted comments by Germany's foreign minister about the war in Ukraine for propaganda purposes, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday, stressing Berlin's position that NATO must not become party to the conflict. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock riled Moscow with comments at an event in Strasbourg on Tuesday, when, speaking in English, she said that "we are fighting a war against Russia, and not against each other". Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a post on her Telegram messaging channel cited by state TASS news agency on Wednesday, seized on Baerbock's comments as evidence the West was waging a "premeditated war against Russia". This concern was part of the reason for Germany's delay in agreeing to send the Leopard tanks to Ukraine. "Russian propaganda continually takes statements, sentences, stances, positions of the government, our partners and uses them to serve their purposes," said the German foreign ministry spokesperson.

☆ Politics aside, China's CATL ramps up cell production in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ARNSTADT, Germany, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Chinese battery giant CATL (300750.SZ) is putting down roots near the small central German town of Arnstadt, ploughing ahead with the ramp-up of battery cell production despite uncertainty over Germany's future relations with China. The Arnstadt plant delivered its first sample cells to customers in December and aims to have six production lines running this year. For now, the materials used are mostly imported from China, partly because CATL has long-term relationships with suppliers there. But some Chinese suppliers have set up shop in Europe near the Arnstadt plant, CATL's Europe president Matthias Zentgraf said in an interview. CATL will be the largest battery maker in Europe once its planned 100-GWh plant in Hungary reaches full capacity.

In Germany, where SAP is headquartered, the company will cut slightly more than 200 jobs. SAP has also started the process to sell its stake in Qualtrics (XM.O). REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo 1 2Currently, survey-software seller Qualtrics has a market value of $7 billion and SAP has a 71% stake. SAP forecast core operating profit of 8.8-8.9 billion euros at constant currencies for this year. It also expects cloud revenue at constant currencies for 2023 to rise to 15.3-15.7 billion euros, from 12.56 billion euros last year.

☆ Race against the clock for Germany's top Nazi hunter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Tilman Blasshofer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Nazi hunter Thomas Will, head of Germany's main agency responsible for the investigation of war crimes during Nazi rule looks into files at the Central Office of State Judicial Authorities for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg, Germany, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Timm ReichertLUDWIGSBURG, Germany, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Germany's top Nazi hunter, Thomas Will, is hopeful of securing further convictions over the Holocaust even as the remaining suspects, many now in their late 90s, die. So as long as perpetrators are still alive, we will pursue the cases," he said from his office outside Stuttgart in southwestern Germany. Will heads Germany's Central Office of State Judicial Authorities for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes. The conviction last month of a 97-year-old woman who worked as a concentration camp secretary "was certainly one of the last", Will said.

☆ German arrested for allegedly passing on intelligence to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A German citizen was arrested at the Munich airport on suspicion of treason for allegedly colluding with an intelligence service employee to pass on intelligence to Russia, the prosecutor general's office said on Thursday. The man, identified as Arthur E., was arrested on Sunday upon arriving in Germany from the United States, the prosecutor said in a statement. He is said to be an associate of Carsten L., an employee of the German foreign intelligence service (BND) who was arrested in December on suspicion of spying for Russia. Arthur E., who is not a German intelligence employee, is believed to have passed on to the Russian intelligence service information he had obtained from Carten L., according to the prosecutor's statement. German authorities have warned of likely heightened Russian spying given the Kremlin's stand-off with the West over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Leaked Oracle emails show a key exec is leaving amid more layoffs and changes to its advertising business
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Oracle Advertising laid off another round of employees this month and the unit's chief product officer, Derek Wise, is leaving, according to internal emails viewed by Insider. Previously called Oracle Data Cloud, Oracle renamed its cloud-based advertising and customer relationship management software to Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience. Oracle Advertising now falls under Edward Screven, Oracle's executive vice president and chief corporate architect who reports to founder and CTO Larry Ellison. "Over the past few days we have had to make some very tough choices about the future of Oracle Advertising," Vlaovic wrote in a Jan. 17 email. "Our strategy in Oracle Advertising moving forward is to be more focused and be able to self-fund our growth."

It's more than twice the average student loan debt of recent college graduates. Why I'll never refinance my student loan debtDebt-payoff plans like to tout student loan refinancing, but the route doesn't offer great benefits for most borrowers. Around 92% of outstanding student loan debt is from federal student loans, while private loans make up just under 8%, according to data firm MeasureOne. If you're among the vast majority with federal student loan debt, refinancing comes with some serious drawbacks. You can roll any federal student loan into a Direct Consolidation Loan and apply for an income-driven repayment plan, like I did.

☆ SAP to cut 3,000 jobs in efficiency move, explores Qualtrics stake sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - SAP (SAPG.DE) on Thursday said it plans to cut 3,000 jobs, or 2.5% of its global staff, and to explore a sale of its remaining stake in Qualtrics to focus on strategic growth areas and operate more efficiently. With the planned job cuts, SAP joins other big tech companies including Microsoft and Amazon in turning to layoffs to cut costs. SAP reported a 30% revenue increase in its cloud business in the fourth quarter, helped by strong demand for its HANA software. Analysts are worried that the lucrative cloud segment for big tech companies could be hit hard as customers look to cut spending. SAP's operating profit grew 17% in the three months through December to 1.71 billion euros ($1.87 billion) on group revenue of 8.44 billion euros, it said.

☆ Spain Arrests Suspected Letter-Bomber
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Xavier Fontdegloria | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Spanish police arrested a suspect in the town of Miranda de Ebro in northern Spain who they said was a 74-year-old Spanish retired man. BARCELONA—Spanish police said they arrested a 74-year-old man suspected of sending letter bombs to government leaders, the U.S. and Ukrainian embassies and other targets late last year. The man, described as a retiree and Spanish citizen, was arrested in the town of Miranda de Ebro in northern Spain. Investigators presume he made and sent the six explosive packages by himself, the police said, but they didn’t rule out the participation or influence of other people. The man was in police custody on Wednesday while officers searched his house, where they believe he made the explosives.

☆ Spanish police arrest man suspected in 2022 parcel-bomb case
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Vincent West | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Spanish police officers guard outside a building after the arrest of a man suspected of being the sender of letter-bombs in November and December to the Ukrainian and U.S. embassies and several institutions in Spain, in Miranda de Ebro, Spain January 25, 2023. The man was detained in the northern town of Miranda de Ebro, and police searched his home. The suspect is a retired Spanish citizen with the initials P.G.P. The man used to work for the town hall of the Basque capital Vitoria-Gasteiz before retiring in 2013, a city spokesperson said. Spanish officials have declined to comment on the report, while a senior judicial source denied having knowledge of such a line of investigation.

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