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Lloyds set aside 1.5 billion pounds in 2022 to cover potential loan distress, a year after releasing 1.4 billion pounds of provisions as the economy rebounded from COVID-19. The bank reported pre-tax profit of 6.9 billion pounds ($8.4 billion) for 2022, unchanged on the previous year and in line with analyst forecasts it had compiled. It plans to pay a 1.6 pence per share final dividend and a share buyback of up to 2 billion pounds, taking total shareholder returns for 2022 up to 3.6 billion pounds. Expenses also rose 6% to 8.8 billion, partly due to rising wage bills as Lloyds boosted its staff bonus pool by 12% to 446 million pounds. Lloyds also said it had bought Tusker, a vehicle leasing company that provides electric vehicles via salary sacrifice schemes, for 300 million pounds.

☆ How a 27-Year-Old Designer Is Reviving Your Grandma’s Favorite Shoe Brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Rory Satran | Photography Joshua Woods For Wsj. Magazine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

“Honestly, it’s a huge machine,” Davis continues, referring to the company that Ferragamo launched in 1927. Ferragamo had six children with his wife, Wanda, a powerful matriarch who oversaw the company after her husband’s death in 1960. The Ferragamo family is still involved, owning about 65 percent of the publicly traded company’s shares, with the couple’s son Leonardo serving as chairman of the board. On that first day, Davis met his new assistant, who showed him around and introduced him to the different teams he’d be working with. “Obviously, I had trouble remembering everyone’s names because I think it’s 17 designers, but it was exciting,” he says.

☆ Former heavyweight champion Joshua to return to ring in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Boxing - Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua - WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world title - King Abdullah Sports City Arena, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - August 20, 2022 Anthony Joshua after losing his fight against Oleksandr Usyk Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File PhotoLONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Britain's former twice world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will make his ring return in London on April 1 against American Jermaine Franklin, promoters Matchroom and DAZN said on Monday. The fight at the 02 Arena will be the first time in nearly seven years that Joshua, 33, has fought without a world title at stake. The Briton has not fought since his second straight loss to Ukraine's WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in a title rematch in Saudi Arabia last August. "Mentally and physically I feel ready," said Joshua, who has a new trainer in Derrick James for the fight against a 29-year-old opponent. Franklin, who has a 21-1 record with 14 knockouts and whose first defeat was on points to Britain's Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena last November, said Joshua had "had his time".

Forty-seven pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong have been accused of a conspiracy to commit subversion in a landmark political case. Benny Tai, 58, was a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. Pro-democracy primary Pro-democracy candidates held a primary vote ahead of the upcoming Legislative Council election. The 47 defendants helped organize or participated in this event. New election rules announced China announced new rules for Hong Kong elections, limiting candidates to only those deemed loyal to Beijing.

HONG KONG, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Sixteen Hong Kong pro-democracy figures face trial on Monday, more than two years after their arrest, in what some observers say is a landmark case for the city's judicial independence under a national security law imposed by Beijing. Thirteen of those arrested were granted bail in 2021, while the other 34 - including 10 who pleaded not guilty - have been in pre-trial custody on national security grounds. Western governments have criticised the 2020 national security law as a tool to crush dissent in the former British colony. The 31 who pleaded guilty, including former law professor Benny Tai and activist Joshua Wong, will be sentenced after the trial. The case will be heard by three High Court judges designated under the national security law: Andrew Chan, Alex Lee and Johnny Chan.

New York CNN —Thursday afternoon will round out what has so far been a sobering earnings season for the Big Tech giants. Alphabet’s revenue will likely remain flat from last year and Amazon’s sales are expected to grow just shy of 6% year-over-year. All three companies’ profits are expected to fall from the year-ago quarter, with Amazon set to suffer the steepest drop with a decline of 40.6%. Then came the press conference, which led to a steep divergence between what the Fed thinks and what the Wall Street thinks. A cautionary tale: In mid-November, Ticketmaster’s site overloaded when fans tried to purchase pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour.

☆ Elon Musk tries to explain why Tesla shares are tanking
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Long-time Tesla bull Ross Gerber wrote in a tweet , "Tesla stock price now reflects the value of having no CEO. But Tesla's stock has dropped more than other larger automakers since Musk announced his plans to buy Twitter in Apr. Since that date, Tesla shares are down 59%, versus 26% for Ford and 12% for GM . Musk sold billions of dollars of his Tesla holdings to finance the Twitter deal, including a $3.6 billion sale earlier this month. Those, among other challenges, led Mizuho Securities and Evercore ISI to reduce their Tesla price targets on Tuesday.

☆ Investors who stuck it out for Musk's Twitter deal set to reap rewards
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] The Twitter logo is seen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, November 7, 2013. If the deal had collapsed, the price floor for Twitter stock would have been "unknown", White said, adding that investors waged their risk on Delaware Chancery court, where corporate disputes are resolved. Investors sold 107,626 million Twitter shares in the second quarter, regulatory filings and Symmetric.io data show, with activist investors and tech oriented funds leading the sales. As the stock price dropped early in the third quarter, some investors saw a chance to buy in for cheap. that Twitter investors were not trapped.

It’s the first time in 50 years that a federal grant has been given to study a psychedelic drug as a possible treatment. The study, a randomized controlled trial expected to start later this year, will investigate whether psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” can help people quit smoking tobacco. Hopkins researchers will lead the trial, which will be done in collaboration with researchers at NYU Langone Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In a study published in August, researchers found that psilocybin helped drinkers reduce alcohol cravings. Typically in studies using psychedelics, participants receive the drug during a monitored session with a therapist, which can last hours.

☆ WBC champion Fury to fight Chisora for third time
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The 34-year-old Fury will face veteran Chisora on Dec. 3 having beaten him comfortably in 2011 and 2014. At a news conference at the Tottenham stadium on Thursday, Fury explained why he is fighting Chisora again. We offer it to Derek Chisora and boom. With Derek Chisora you get what it says on the tin. Warren said provided Fury beats Chisora, he could face Usyk in February, but not in the UK.

"It is definitely a business school case study. Musk's attempt to take over Twitter is "a gift to professors and students", said Joshua White, a professor at Vanderbilt University, calling the situation "unprecedented". While the messages reflect his unusual approach to running a business, taking control of Twitter will mean managing it, at least initially. "What is to come is unclear," said Donna Hitscherich, a Columbia Business School professor. Success or failure, it will be an instant business school classroom staple, experts say.

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