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☆ Low water again hampers Rhine river shipping in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HAMBURG, June 28 (Reuters) - Low water levels after recent dry weather are again preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine river in Germany with surcharges added to the usual freight prices, commodity traders said on Wednesday. Low water is hampering shipping on most of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said. Dry weather in early June meant the river became too shallow, hindering shipping before rain raised water levels. But rain forecast in river catchment areas in Germany from Thursday into the weekend could help raise water levels, traders said. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heatwave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: surcharges, Michael Hogan, Jason Neely Organizations: Thomson Locations: HAMBURG, Germany, Duisburg, Cologne

☆ The inside man who shook the Kremlin: Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, and what's next for him?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Richard Engel | Yuliya Talmazan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. A St. Petersburg native like Putin, Prigozhin, 62, has one of the most varied biographies among the Kremlin elite. With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Prigozhin was able and eager to again prove his value to Putin. As the Russian army came up against surprisingly strong resistance, Wagner's mercenaries came in handy in the bloodiest of battles. The standoff then exploded and Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion on Friday after alleging that the Russian army fired at his mercenaries.

Persons: Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, —, Wagner, Michael A, Horowitz, what's, Prigohzin, Prigozhin, Putin, Read, Bashar al, Assad, Sergei Shoigu Organizations: Wagner Group, Southern Military, Stringer, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Le Beck, NBC News, Putin, Kremlin, Prigozhin, NBC, U.S, Internet Research Agency, Central African, Defense Ministry Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Moscow, Belarus, St, Petersburg, Europe, East, Africa, Crimean, Kyiv, Russian, Ukraine, Syria, Central African Republic, Bakhmut, U.S

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: SoFi Technologies, AutoZone, Nvidia, Meta and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Bank of America downgrades SoFi Technologies to neutral from buy The downgrade follows SoFi' s recent rally. Our C$51 Price Target is 39% above the current stock price and we see close to 3:1 upside/downside skew." UBS upgrades AutoZone to buy from neutral Analyst Michael Lasser raised the price target to $2,900 from $2,800. Wells Fargo initiates Neogen Corporation at overweight and $22 price target Wells Fargo said it liked the company's improving margins. Wells Fargo initiates Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. at overweight and $550 price target Wells said Bio-Rad's valuation is attractive at current levels.

Persons: Jefferies, John Hecht, LendingClub, Morgan Stanley, Mauricio Serna, Aritzia, Michael Lasser, Carvana, it's, Wells, Ph3, Wells Fargo, Piper Sandler, TD Cowen downgrades, LOE, Michael Bloom Organizations: . Bank of America, Technologies, Nvidia, Bank of America, UBS, West Pharmaceutical Services, Stevanato, MorphoSys, Neogen, Rad Laboratories Inc, SoFi Technologies, Health Companies Locations: EBITDA, 4Q23, BLCO

☆ FibroGen's neuromuscular disorder drug fails in late-stage study
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 7 (Reuters) - FibroGen Inc (FGEN.O) said on Wednesday its drug to treat a type of neuromuscular disorder failed to meet the main goal in a late-stage study, sending the company's shares down about 14% in premarket trading. The treatment was generally safe and well tolerated for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DMD is a progressive degenerative disorder that hampers muscle movement and affects one in 3,600 newborn boys, most of whom die by the age of 30. Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sriparna Roy, Shilpi Majumdar, Shounak Organizations: FibroGen, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ See the pitch deck these 2 best friends made on Canva to raise $675,000 for their tequila brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lauren Crosmedlicott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They registered their tequila brand, Pimantae, while working full-time jobs in 2021. They decided to pursue angel investors and used a pitch deck they made on Canva. They considered crowdfunding and venture capital as financing options, but settled on approaching angel investors. With their first investor locked in, other investors started expressing interest. They closed their pre-seed round in September 2022 having raised £545,000, or around $675,000, between 13 angel investors and Distill Ventures — far exceeding their original £250,000 goal.

☆ Where the royal family goes in London, from Indian restaurants to theme parks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Well, they’re not, obviously – but sometimes they do put down their tiaras, leave their palaces and join the hoi polloi at restaurants, bars and even theme parks. He once called Brilliant Restaurant in Southall, west London his favorite Indian restaurant – and Gordon Ramsay is also a fan. Stuart C. Wilson/Getty ImagesBack in the noughties, party Prince Harry was a regular at Mahiki, a Tiki-themed bar-club-restaurant in Mayfair. Simon Dack/AlamyIn his memoir “Spare,” Prince Harry wrote about popping out to shop for clothes at T.K. Toby Melville/Getty ImagesThe-then Meghan Markle was apparently spied In the heart of Chelsea while she was engaged to Prince Harry, getting a facial from Sarah Chapman.

☆ Sudan military faction chiefs agree May 4-11 truce in princple -South Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Mohamed Noureldin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The credibility of the reported May 4-11 deal ceasefire deal between Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was unclear, given the rampant violations that undermined previous agreements running from 24 to 72 hours. "The entire region could be affected," he said in an interview with a Japanese newspaper on Tuesday as an envoy from Sudan's army chief, who leads one of the warring sides, met Egyptian officials in Cairo. United Nations officials had said U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths aimed to visit Sudan on Tuesday but the timing was still to be confirmed. "The risk is that this is not just going to be a Sudan crisis, it's going to be a regional crisis," said Michael Dunford, the WFP's East Africa director. That has raised the spectre of a prolonged conflict that could draw in outside powers.

Shortages of artillery shells are hampering Russia’s grinding advance in eastern Ukraine, Western officials said on Tuesday, as Moscow pushes to capture the city of Bakhmut after months of heavy fighting and Kyiv gears up for a counteroffensive. Russian ammunition shortages have in recent weeks worsened to the extent that extreme rationing of artillery shells is likely in force on many parts of the front, the U.K.’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday in its daily intelligence briefing. Other European defense officials agreed with the assessment, with one stressing that Russia was working with partners including North Korea to buy ammunition quickly while it scaled up production.

NATO has just completed an extraordinary survey of the remaining munition stocks, a NATO official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "Those NATO (munitions targets) that we set, and each ally has a specific target, those were not being met for the most part (before the Ukraine war)," the official said. "I would be absolutely gobsmacked if the targets…were not increased," said the NATO official. After the Cold War, the production of ammunition had turned "quite artisanal", said the NATO official. "I don't necessarily think that within the next year our stockpile levels will increase massively," the NATO official said.

☆ Woods commits to next week's Genesis Invitational, says 'I'm ready'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Tournament host Tiger Woods has committed to playing at next week's Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, which will mark his first non-major PGA Tour start since October 2020. "I'm ready to play an ACTUAL PGA Tour event next week," Woods wrote. The Genesis Invitational, which is run by Woods' foundation, is scheduled for Feb. 16-19. Woods then skipped the U.S. Open, the year's third major, so he could focus on the British Open at St. Andrews where he finished nine over par for his two rounds last July. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Swiss neutrality on the line as arms-for-Ukraine debate heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Buyers of Swiss arms are legally prevented from re-exporting them, a restriction that some representing the country's large weapons industry say is now hurting trade. Under Swiss neutrality, which dates back to 1815 and is enshrined by treaty in 1907, Switzerland will not send weapons directly or indirectly to combatants in a war. Third countries can in theory apply to Bern to re-export Swiss weapons they have in their stocks, but permission is almost always denied. Meanwhile the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), the lower house's largest party and traditionally staunch defenders of neutrality, now appears divided. ($1 = 0.9132 Swiss francs)Reporting by John Revill; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The holiday, known before the pandemic as the world's largest annual migration of people, comes amid an escalating diplomatic spat over COVID curbs that saw Beijing introduce transit curbs for South Korean and Japanese nationals on Wednesday. The virus is spreading unchecked in China after Beijing abruptly began dismantling its previously tight curbs in early December following historic protests. Among them, South Korea and Japan have also limited flights and require tests on arrival, with passengers showing up as positive being sent to quarantine. COUNTING DEATHSSome of the governments that announced curbs on travellers from China cited concerns over Beijing's data transparency. Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

☆ FTC proposes to ban noncompete clauses, says move will strengthen workers' hands.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Eli M. Rosenberg | Eli Rosenberg Is An Investigative Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule Thursday to ban the use of noncompete clauses in worker contracts, a change that would significantly boost the negotiating power of employees. “The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy,” FTC Chairwoman Lina M. Khan said in a statement. According to a 2019 study by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, somewhere between a quarter to about a half of all workers are subject to noncompete clauses. The FTC said that 1 out of 5 workers are bound by noncompete clauses. Wilson said she believed the rule was outside the FTC’s scope and would be vulnerable to legal challenges.

☆ A 30-year investing vet who called the latest bear market warns that stocks have another 41% downside with US economy already in recession and the Fed continuing to ratchet up rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jon Wolfenbarger thinks the US economy is already in recession. With growth slowing and the Fed still tightening, Wolfenbarger thinks stocks are due for big losses. The S&P 500 is already down around 20% year-to-date. All of that spells further trouble ahead for stocks, Wolfenbarger said, despite the fact that the S&P 500 has already fallen about 20% in 2022. In a recessionary scenario, Goldman Sachs' David Kostin said the S&P 500 could fall to 3,150, though that is not his base case.

☆ Pfizer's hemophilia B gene therapy succeeds in late-stage study
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Thursday its experimental gene therapy for the treatment of hemophilia B, a rare inherited blood disorder, met its main goal in a late-stage study. The drugmaker licensed its hemophilia B gene therapy from Roche's (ROG.S) Spark Therapeutics unit in 2014 for a $20-million upfront payment. Pfizer plans to discuss the late-stage data with regulatory authorities in Europe and the United States and share additional data for the experimental therapy at a scientific conference in early 2023. According to government data, the estimated prevalence of hemophilia in the United States is 12 cases per 100,000 males for hemophilia A and 3.7 cases per 100,000 males for hemophilia B. In November, the U.S. health regulator approved the first gene therapy, CSL Ltd and uniQure's Hemgenix, to treat hemophilia B.Pfizer is also testing other experimental gene therapies in late-stage trials as potential treatments for the bleeding disorder hemophilia A and muscular disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

☆ Putin says Russia's nuclear forces will improve 'combat readiness,' as the Russian military continues to face setbacks in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin on Wednesday said that Russia's nuclear forces would improve "combat readiness." And this process, of course, we will build upon," Putin said during a televised meeting with Russian military officials, per the Moscow Times. The Russian leader, who in the early days of the Ukraine war said he was placing Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert, also said Russia would "improve the combat readiness of our nuclear triad." The war in Ukraine has gone poorly for the Russian military, which is estimated to have suffered 100,000 casualties since invading in late February. Russia's forces have lost ground to Ukrainian troops in recent months, including in Ukrainian territories that Putin illegally annexed in September.

☆ Wells Fargo ordered to pay $3.7 billion for past scandals. Here's why we see it as a positive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Wells Fargo will pay a $1.7 billion civil penalty and more than $2 billion to the "over 16 million affected consumer accounts," the CFPB said. Wells Fargo has already paid out some of that $2 billion, the bank told Jim Cramer. Wells Fargo has long made clear it was being investigated by the CFPB, so Tuesday's announcement wasn't a complete shock. Shares of Wells Fargo dropped roughly 2% to just under $41 each. However, Wells Fargo had already reserved, or set aside, more than half of that.

☆ EU regulator backs gene therapy to treat rare bleeding disorder
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies CSL Ltd FollowUniqure NV FollowDec 16 (Reuters) - The European Union's health regulator on Friday said it had recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for a gene therapy by Australian drugmaker CSL Ltd (CSL.AX) and partner uniQure N.V. , to treat haemophilia B, a rare bleeding disorder which is caused by genetic anomalies. About one in 40,000 people are affected by the inherited disorder, caused by a gene mutation that hampers the body's ability to make clotting protein factor IX. If approved, the treatment, branded Hemgenix, will be the first gene therapy in the European Union for the condition that is usually treated by regular injections of factor IX, the European Medicines Agency said. CSL had acquired exclusive global rights to Hemgenix in May last year from uniQure N.V. Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

These psychiatric drugs are regulated by the federal government as controlled substances that have high potential for abuse and addiction but are not opioids. The impact on independent pharmacies' prescriptions of psychiatric drugs from the widening crackdown on opioids has not been previously reported. It is dedicated to mitigating the abuse of controlled substances without interfering in good-faith clinical decisions made by doctors, she said. "Pharmaceutical distributors must walk a legal and ethical tightrope between providing access to necessary medications and acting to prevent diversion of controlled substances," Esposito said in a written statement. The FDA, the HHS agency that administers the list of controlled substances, did not respond to a request for comment.

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Australian drugmaker CSL Ltd (CSL.AX) on Tuesday set the list price of its one-time gene therapy for hemophilia B at $3.5 million, making it the world's most expensive treatment, following its approval by the U.S. health regulator. The first gene therapy for the rare genetic blood clotting disorder offers a long-term solution for patients as against current treatments from Biogen (BIIB.O), Pfizer (PFE.N) and others that focus on regular infusions. The gene therapy consists of an engineered virus carrying a gene expressed in the liver to produce clotting factor IX. While Zynteglo was priced at $2.8 million, Skysona had a wholesale cost of $3.0 million. CSL shares were up 1% at A$300.62 on the Australian stock exchange, while UniQure stock edged up 0.9% in extended trading.

☆ U.S. Climate Funding Shortfall Hampers Bid to Cut Developing Countries’ Emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—The West’s diplomatic push at the United Nations climate summit faces a major obstacle: the long-running struggle inside the U.S. to deliver funds for the developing world’s response to global warming. The U.S. has lagged behind other wealthy countries in providing funds for poorer countries to cut emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. The Trump administration sharply cut climate finance in its budgets. The Biden administration has promised to boost climate finance to $11.4 billion annually, but its request in last year’s budget was cut from $2.7 billion to $1 billion during Senate negotiations amid Republican opposition.

☆ Michael Kors-owner Capri cuts holiday forecasts on slow China recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 9 (Reuters) - Michael Kors-owner Capri Holdings Ltd (CPRI.N) on Wednesday lowered its sales and profit forecasts for the holiday period, blaming a slow demand recovery in China due to persistent COVID-19 curbs and uncertainty about the global economy. Luxury goods companies have managed to pass on higher costs to affluent shoppers, but China remains a sore spot as Beijing's "dynamic zero-COVID" policy hampers the return of consumers to high-fashion stores. COVID disruptions in China have also weighed heavily on Kering's (PRTP.PA) Gucci, Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) and L'Oreal (OREP.PA). Capri, which also owns Versace and Jimmy Choo, cut its holiday-quarter sales forecast to $1.53 billion, from $1.65 billion, and lowered its profit forecast to $2.20 per share from $2.45 per share. It forecast fiscal 2023 revenue of $5.70 billion, compared with its prior estimate of about $5.85 billion.

☆ Toyota expects to cut full-year output target due to chip shortage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Toyota logo is displayed at the 89th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland March 5, 2019. The Japanese company has been under scrutiny over whether it can stick to its annual production target of a record 9.7 million vehicles after it missed interim goals in the first four months of the fiscal year that began in April. A revised target will be disclosed once the outlook for production becomes clearer, a Toyota spokesperson said. It has slashed its global production target for the last financial year three times, reducing it from 9.3 million in May 2021 to 8.5 million in February. It ended up producing about 8.6 million vehicles in the last financial year to March 31.

☆ Deadly childhood diseases rise in Ethiopia's Tigray as war hampers vaccinations
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The percentage of children in Tigray receiving routine vaccines has fallen below 10% this year, data from the Tigray Health Bureau shows, undoing years of government efforts to boost immunisation rates. read moreMEASLES OUTBREAKSHealth Minister Lia Tadesse said vaccines had been provided to Tigray this year and that more were ready to be delivered once conditions allowed. The rate across Ethiopia was 65% in 2021, according to data from the U.N. children's agency UNICEF. Ethiopia's health minister Lia said 860,000 doses of measles vaccines were delivered to Tigray last December and additional doses were delivered on April 2. WFP spokesperson Claire Nevill, however, said the agency was waiting on clearances from Ethiopia's government.

☆ Why does it feel like working from home is giving me ADHD?
▼ + stars: | 2022-01-24 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In Insider's new work-advice column, a reader worries she's developed ADHD while working from home. There's no such thing as sudden-onset ADHD, but modern life and always-on tech are distracting. Is it possible that working from home during the pandemic is giving me attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Instead, Dr. Hallowell said you're suffering from what he calls, "culturally-induced ADD," or "a severe case of modern life." "The remedies are also similar — apart from the lack of prescription medication to treat modern life," he said.

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