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☆ Flutter Q1 revenues jump 29% as U.S. races ahead, UK bounces back
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Padraic Halpin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Led by its Fanduel brand, Flutter maintained its leading 50% share of the U.S. sports betting market after revenue jumped 92% year-on-year on a constant currency basis. UKI revenue had fallen sharply in the same period last year, partly due to the impact of measures to curb gambling addiction. Chief Executive Peter Jackson put about half the growth down to product improvements and said competitors belatedly adopting safer gambling measures may also have helped Flutter outperform the market, which he estimated was flat year-on-year. Revenue also rose 69% on a constant currency basis in its international division, where Flutter said the recently acquired Italian gaming operator Sisal performed exceptionally well. The Dublin-based firm forecast in November that Fanduel's revenue would jump to around $15 billion over the long term - twice Flutter's entire revenue last year.

☆ Oil slips on weak China data and rate hike expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rowena Edwards | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday on weak economic data from China and expectations of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) this week. Brent crude fell 42 cents, or 0.53%, to to $78.89 a barrel by 1037 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 46 cents, or 0.61% to $75.20. Price pressure followed official data on Sunday showing manufacturing activity in China, the world's top crude importer, fell unexpectedly in April. Investors will look for market direction from expected interest rate hikes by inflation-fighting central banks, which could slow economic growth and dent energy demand. A poll on Monday showed that U.S. crude oil stockpiles, meanwhile, are expected to have fallen for a third consecutive week, providing some oil price support.

☆ Oil slips on weak China demand fears, U.S. rate rise forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The downside pressure on oil is that China's economic recovery is not really promising, clouding the demand outlook on fuel consumption," said Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets. China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell in April, official data showed on Sunday, the first contraction since December in the manufacturing purchasing managers' index. China's industrial and economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was expected to boost demand this year. Despite China's weak manufacturing data, there are positive signs of recovery based on spending during the five-day Labour Day holiday in the world's largest oil importer, said analysts in an ANZ Research note. Interest rate increases by inflation-fighting central banks could impact oil by slowing economic growth and denting energy demand.

Brent crude was up by 7 cents to $79.38 a barrel by 0425 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 11 cents to $75.77 a barrel. China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell in April, official data showed on Sunday, the first contraction since December in the manufacturing purchasing managers' index. China's industrial and economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was expected to boost demand this year. "Crude oil fell after weak economic data from China raised concerns about a patchy recovery," said analysts in an ANZ Research note, referring to China's manufacturing activity data. Meanwhile, a Monday poll showed that U.S. crude oil stockpiles are expected to have fallen for a third consecutive week, providing some support to the market.

May 1 (Reuters) - Regulators seized First Republic Bank (FRC.N) and sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) on Monday, in a deal to resolve the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis and draw a line under a lingering banking turmoil. Shares of JPMorgan rose 2% on Monday, while those of mid-tier banks fell and the KBW Regional Banking Index (.KRX) closed down 2.7%. [1/3] People walk past a First Republic Bank branch in San Francisco, California, U.S. April 28, 2023. "This is not the world financial crisis, this is not the savings and loan crisis. The failed bank's 84 offices in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank from Monday, it added.

May 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in thin early Asian trade on Tuesday as the market digests weak economic data from China and expectations of another U.S. interest rate hike. Brent crude fell by 2 cents to $79.29 a barrel by 0021 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2 cents to $75.64. China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell in April, official data showed on Sunday, the first contraction since December in the manufacturing purchasing managers' index. Interest rate hikes often reduce demand. A Monday poll suggesting that U.S. crude oil stockpiles are expected to have fallen for a third consecutive week provided some support to the market.

REUTERS/Andrew KellyNEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - American basketball star Brittney Griner stepped onto the red carpet at the star-studded Met Gala on Monday, embracing a larger spotlight months after returning home from detention in a Russian penal colony. The twice Olympic champion has pledged to advocate for the release of other Americans detained abroad after she was freed from Russia in a high-profile prisoner exchange after nearly 10 months of detention. "I was able to come home," Griner told Vogue at the gala. "It is everything, to be here with my wife able to be here it means so much," Griner said. Twenty-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer served as a co-chair of the event while China's twice Olympic champion freestyle skier Eileen Gu was also in attendance.

Box customers testing the product have already experienced “revolutionary” productivity gains, Box CEO Aaron Levie told Reuters. He cited a Box customer whose employees were reviewing tens and thousands of files manually. The new AI features were able to do it automatically “within a matter of seconds.”Box partnered with OpenAI, the AI startup backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) behind the chatbot sensation ChatGPT, to build the AI enhancements. While Box is initially building its AI offering with OpenAI’s technology, the goal is to allow customers to select among different AI providers, he said. Box said the new AI features include the ability to summarize financial documents, surface insights from customer surveys and tailor onboarding documents to a specific customer's needs.

The deal talks went down to the wire, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Four bidders, including JPMorgan, made it to the final rounds of the auction on Sunday night, one of the sources said. The final deal, announced around 3:30 a.m., cements Dimon's reputation as one of Wall Street's most powerful bankers. JPMorgan started a process internally, which looked at various options for First Republic, including an acquisition, according to a source familiar with the matter. The auction dragged out through the night as the FDIC's advisors examined each bid on its merits, a source familiar with the matter said.

Shares of JPMorgan and some of the other the largest U.S. banks rose on Monday, while those of mid-tier banks fell. [1/3] People walk past a First Republic Bank branch in San Francisco, California, U.S. April 28, 2023. "This is not the world financial crisis, this is not the savings and loan crisis. JPMorgan also entered into a loss-share agreement with the FDIC on single family, residential and commercial loans it bought, but will not take First Republic Bank's corporate debt or preferred stock. The failed bank's 84 offices in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank from Monday, it added.

First Republic was one of the major casualties of the banking crisis triggered in March, when depositors fled en masse from some U.S. lenders to institutions such as JPMorgan that they thought were safer. [1/2] People walk past a First Republic Bank branch in San Francisco, California, U.S. April 28, 2023. JPMorgan has assumed all of the bank's deposits, it said, and will repay $25 billion of the $30 billion big banks deposited with First Republic in March. JPMorgan said it expected to achieve a one-time, post-tax gain of about $2.6 billion after the deal. The failed bank's 84 offices in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank from Monday, it added.

STEPPING UPA security guard stands outside a First Republic Bank branch in San Francisco, California, U.S. April 28, 2023. The FDIC estimated in a statement that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) would be about $13 billion. JPMorgan has assumed all of the bank's deposits, it said, and will repay $25 billion of the $30 billion big banks deposited with First Republic in March. New York-based JPMorgan will take on $173 billion of loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion of deposits. "Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did," said Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chairman and CEO.

May 1 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) will buy most of First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) assets in a last-ditch rescue led by U.S. regulators, marking the third major U.S. institution to fail in two months. First Republic Bank shares tumbled 43.3% in premarket trading. The FDIC estimated in a statement that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund would be about $13 billion. "Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did," said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. The failed bank's 84 offices in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank from Monday, according to the JPMorgan statement.

☆ JP Morgan to buy First Republic's assets and assume deposits
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The banking giant will take $173 billion of loans and about $30 billion of securities of First Republic Bank including $92 billion of deposits, JPMorgan said in a statement. First Republic Bank shares tumbled 36% in premarket trading. The FDIC estimated in a statement that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund would be about $13 billion. "Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did," said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. The failed bank's 84 offices in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank from Monday, according to the JPMorgan statement.

☆ Australian 7-Eleven franchise puts 700-store chain up for sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - The operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Australia said on Monday that its board has kickstarted the process to sell its entire business. Australia's largest convenience and fuel retailer, with more than 700 stores, said the board of 7-Eleven Holdings had commenced a process to sell the business. The process was at an early stage and was expected to take a number of months, it said in a statement on its website. Australia's 7-Eleven Stores, which is licensed by U.S.-based 7-Eleven Inc, is owned by the Withers and Barlow families. In 1976, they signed the area licence agreement to bring the 7-Eleven brand to Australia, opening the first store in Oakleigh, Victoria in 1977.

☆ China lodges serious representations with South Korea over joint statement with U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 28 (Reuters) - China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" to South Korea over its joint statement with the United States about the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a foreign ministry statement said on Friday. Department of Asian Affairs Director-General Liu Jinsong met with South Korean Embassy Minister Kang Sang-wook on Thursday evening to emphasise China's stance on Taiwan and urged South Korea to strictly adhere to the "One-China" principle, the ministry said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is on a six-day visit to the United States, during which Yoon and President Joe Biden held talks that covered tensions between China and Taiwan and Chinese military activities in the South China Sea. In a South Korea-U.S. joint statement, the presidents stressed the need for peace in the Taiwan Strait and said they opposed "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific, including through unlawful maritime claims, the militarization of reclaimed features, and coercive activities." Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Canadian Senate passes bill to compel local content on streaming giants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, April 27 (Reuters) - Canada's Senate on Thursday passed the government's online streaming legislation after a 10-month debate over a law that will force firms like Netflix (NFLX.O) and Alphabet Inc-owned (GOOGL.O) YouTube to offer more Canadian content. Bill C-11, or the Online Streaming Act, cleared the unelected upper chamber of the Canadian parliament with 52 votes to 16 and one abstention. The government says the legislation will ensure that online streaming services promote Canadian music and stories, and support Canadian jobs. YouTube has said it does not oppose the bill in its entirety, but has raised concerns over its impact to user-generated content. The video platform says the law would force it to recommend Canadian content on its homepage, rather than videos tailored to a user's specific interests.

Paradoxically, however, in previous debt ceiling crises investors have sought protection from the economic risks of a default by piling into U.S. long-term Treasuries. "If you go through a debt ceiling crisis, it's a global crisis ... And the flight to quality ends up being in U.S. Treasuries," Rieder told Reuters in an interview. "The debt ceiling is certainly part of it," he said, adding other recent steps were an overall reduction of risk in the portfolio, including in credit. The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a Republican bill to raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and slash spending on Wednesday. "It's so hard to foresee how far down the road this debt ceiling is going to take us," Rieder said.

Google used the term 52 times on its first-quarter call on Tuesday, up from 45 in the fourth quarter. Both companies said AI was already juicing sales, but neither said when or if they would start breaking out any sales, costs, or profits from the technology. Bing has lagged Google search for decades but Nadella said that Bing downloads had jumped since the addition of AI features and now had 100 million daily users. Toyama said Google already used AI to monetize their search algorithms and he did not expect AI advances from its rivals to be as much of a threat as some thought. Meta, which has admitted it is playing catch-up in AI, has published an AI model that can pick out individual objects from within an image.

☆ U.S. Sen. Manchin joins effort to repeal Biden solar tariff waiver
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Joe Manchin on Wednesday threw his support behind a legislative effort to repeal President Joe Biden's suspension of tariffs on solar panel imports from four Southeast Asian nations that are the industry's primary suppliers. He is the first Democrat to co-sponsor a resolution introduced by Senator Rick Scott, a Republican, in February. The effort would need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to overturn a presidential veto, and Democrats have just a narrow majority. A conservative Democrat from the coal mining state of West Virginia, Manchin has regularly clashed with his party on energy policy. The resolution mirrors a bipartisan measure that is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives on Friday.

[1/6] Takeshi Hakamada, "ispace" 's founder and chief executive, is pictured at a venue to watch landing of the lander in HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program on the Moon, in Tokyo, Japan, April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, April 25 (Reuters) - Japanese startup ispace (9348.T) said its attempt to make the first private moon landing had failed on Tuesday after losing contact with its Hakuto-R Mission 1 (M1) lander, concluding it had most likely crashed on the lunar surface. The M1 lander appeared set to autonomously touch down about 12:40 p.m. Eastern time (1640 GMT Tuesday) after coming as close as 295 feet (90 meters) from the lunar surface, a live animation of the lander's telemetry showed. The company said in a statement Wednesday in Japan that it believes the spacecraft may have made a "hard landing" on the lunar surface. The M1 also carried an experimental solid-state battery made by NGK Spark Plug Co (5334.T), among other objects to gauge how they perform on the moon.

[1/6] Takeshi Hakamada, "ispace" 's founder and chief executive, is pictured at a venue to watch landing of the lander in HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program on the Moon, in Tokyo, Japan, April 26, 2023. But a lunar landing would be an ambitious feat for a private firm. The Japanese firm "determined that there is a high probability that the lander eventually made a hard landing." In disclosure to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ispace said it did not expect an immediate impact on its earnings forecast. The lander completed eight out of 10 mission objectives in space that will provide valuable data for the next landing attempt in 2024, Hakamada said.

☆ Retailers to tackle sustainability at key conference
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

They will discuss the challenges facing their businesses as inflation causes consumers in Europe and elsewhere to reduce spending. The European Commission is drawing up new rules on textile waste that will make companies responsible for managing the waste their products create. Decathlon, the world's biggest sporting goods retailer, sells repair services, spare parts and tools for people to repair their own bicycles, tents, and kayaks. Retailers are working with local authorities ahead of an EU law that will require member states to separately collect textile waste by Jan. 1, 2025. Firms including Decathlon, Mango, Inditex, and IKEA recently created an association in Spain for the management of textile waste.

☆ Koroibete wins second Australia player of the year award
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, April 24 (Reuters) - Marika Koroibete won the 2022 John Eales Medal as Australia's player of the year on Monday despite missing the end of year tour to Europe because of his club commitments in Japan. The powerful Fiji-born winger came out top in a ballot of Wallabies players ahead of loose forward Rob Valetini after some outstanding performances during the July series against England and the Rugby Championship. Koroibete, who also took the award in 2019, joined George Smith, Nathan Sharpe, Michael Hooper, Israel Folau and David Pocock as multiple winners of the accolade. "It's been a dream come true to represent the Wallabies and I hope I can continue to contribute to the team in what's a massive year ahead." Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU ministers braced for Ukrainian frustration over ammunition plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

loading"The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating," Kuleba said on Thursday. Kuleba can make his case directly when he discusses the state of the war and Ukraine's needs by video link to a regular meeting of EU foreign ministers, taking place in Luxembourg. EU officials pushed back against Kuleba's criticism by stressing that this fast track is up and running so ammunition is already flowing to Kyiv. But the second track, worth another 1 billion euros to fund joint procurement, has yet to be finalised. EU officials and diplomats said they expected an agreement that would satisfy all sides in the coming days.

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