DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Syria's Assad arrives in United Arab Emirates in official visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates March 19, 2023. Hamad Al Kaabi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERSDUBAI, March 19 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al Assad arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday for an official visit, accompanied by his wife Asma al Assad, at a time when more Arab states have signalled openness to easing the isolation of Damascus. "We held constructive talks aimed at developing relations between our two countries," Sheikh Mohammed later said in a Twitter post. The Syrian presidency said Asma al Assad, on her first known official visit abroad with Assad since 2011, would meet with Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak who is the Emirati president's mother and regarded in the UAE as the "Mother of the Nation". Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, to a lesser extent the UAE, once backed rebels against Assad.

☆ Morning Bid: Shock and awe - or mayday?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike DolanMarkets are struggling with whether to be relieved by the sheer scale of Thursday's U.S. bank rescue or be terrified by it. But there was little confidence the rising financial stress would dissipate quickly from here. The discount window jump crashed through a prior record of $112 billion during the banking collapse of 2008. What's more, 75 basis points of Fed rate cuts are still priced between a peak of 5% in May to yearend. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Separately, two days of chaos in China's $21 trillion bond market ended on Friday after Beijing allowed money brokers to resume providing data to third-party platforms. Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, said he considered selling Treasuries earlier in the week but the market was "wildly illiquid." Bond market volatility spikesKEEPING WATCHThe heightened volatility has caught the eye of officials who play a role in ensuring financial markets stability. Analysts noted that bond volatility was exceptionally high not only because of a flight to safe-haven government debt, but also due to a massive repricing of rate-hike expectations. "If liquidity is deteriorating due to wild swings in safe-haven markets, that has implications for the functioning of financial markets and broader economic stability."

☆ Top EU judge expects a wave of litigation from tech giants against new tech law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Andrew KellyBRUSSELS, March 17 (Reuters) - Tech giants will likely challenge a new European Union law aimed at reining in their power with the first cases in a potential wave of litigation expected by year-end, one of the EU's top judges said on Friday. Those disagreeing with the label and requirements are likely to take their complaint to the Luxembourg-based General Court within months, its president Marc van der Woude said. But van der Woude said the DMA was still evolving. He said areas of dispute will likely focus on the gatekeeper designation, specifications of their obligations and during enforcement of the DMA. A contentious area is likely to be the requirement on gatekeepers to notify their acquisitions to the Commission and whether such deals meet the threshold for regulatory scrutiny, van der Woude said.

☆ Israeli protesters paint 'red line' leading to Supreme Court after Netanyahu spurns compromise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, March 16 (Reuters) - Jerusalem woke on Thursday to the sight of a long red line painted by protesters along roads leading to Israel's Supreme Court, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a compromise deal for his government's planned judicial overhaul. Drone footage showed a small group of people in protective suits spraying a wide red stripe along mostly deserted roads leading from a police and magistrate's compound up to the Supreme Court in central Jerusalem. A slogan stencilled in red onto the road in Hebrew, Arabic and English by the side of the road read: "Drawing the line." The hard-right government's drive to limit Supreme Court powers while increasing its own power in selecting judges has caused alarm in Israel and abroad about the country's democratic checks and balances as protests have swelled for weeks. His nationalist-religious coalition says the Supreme Court too often overreaches and intervenes in political matters it has no mandate to rule on.

☆ Erdogan's AKP party signals return to more orthodox economic policies in draft election manifesto -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

ANKARA, March 16 (Reuters) - The draft election manifesto of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party marks a return to more orthodox, free market economic policies, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. According to the sources familiar with the draft, the AK's manifesto for the upcoming election will make no reference to Ankara's more recent economic policies but instead to return to his party's prior, more orthodox approach. "The approach to the economy is very similar to that of the 2002 AK Party election manifesto. He said Erdogan's final approval of the manifesto would be required and so far he had not conveyed any dissenting opinion. If he takes office, a radical change is inevitable in economic policies, the bureaucracy and cabinet members to work in harmony with him," the AKP official said.

☆ Erdogan's party pivots back to orthodox economic policies in draft manifesto -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Russia has committed 'wide range' of war crimes in Ukraine, U.N inquiry finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A flag is seen on a building during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, March 16 (Reuters) - Russia has committed wide-ranging war crimes in Ukraine such as wilful killings, torture and the deportation of children, a U.N.-mandated investigative body said in a report published on Thursday. "Russian authorities have committed numerous violationsof international humanitarian law and violations of international human rights law, in addition to a wide range of war crimes...," the report said. Russia denies committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge; Editing by Anthony Deutsch and Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Credit Suisse woes knock euro, sterling, Swiss Franc
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) shares fell around 20% after its biggest investors said it could not provide more backing. The Swiss lender woes led the wider European banking index (.SX7P) to its lowest level since early January and triggered sharp sell off in the currency markets. The euro fell 1.2% to $1.0605, sterling dropped 0.8% to $1.2065 and the Swiss franc slid 1.2% to 0.9251 per dollar. "This morning’s Credit Suisse news is doing all of the damage in FX markets as European bank stocks take another beating today," said Simon Harvey, Head of FX Analysis at Monex. Money markets have changed their bets for the ECB rate hikes amid the European bank turmoil.

[1/11] Protesters take part in a demonstration against the French government's pension reform plan, as part of the eighth day of national strike and protests, in Ancenis-Saint-Gereon, France, March 15, 2023. The pension bill passed to a joint parliamentary committee on Wednesday where lawmakers from the lower and upper chambers are seeking a compromise text. If a deal is reached, a final vote in both the Senate and National Assembly will be held on Thursday. This new day of protests "is meant to tell lawmakers: don't vote this reform," he said. "In the National Assembly, there will not be an easy vote, nor will there be panic," government spokesman Olivier Veran told Europe 1 radio station.

☆ Chinese doctor who blew the whistle on SARS dies at 91
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, March 15 (Reuters) - A Chinese military doctor who exposed the full extent of the SARS epidemic when it ripped through Beijing in 2003 has died at the age of 91, according to his friends and local media reports. Jiang Yanyong accused the government of deliberately underreporting the spread of the respiratory disease in an open letter sent to state media in 2003. News of his death was not reported in Chinese state media, as is the norm with politically sensitive public figures. Some media including the South China Morning Post said he died on Saturday of pneumonia, citing sources. SARS infected 8,908 people worldwide after emerging in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, eventually killing 774, according to World Health Organisation data.

☆ Blinken meets Ethiopian leader to repair ties damaged by war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/11] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 15, 2023. "We have agreed to strengthen the long standing bilateral relations between our countries with a commitment to partnership," the Ethiopian leader said. While the peace deal has allowed humanitarian aid to flow into Tigray, needs remain immense after the conflict left hundreds of thousands facing starvation. Eritrean troops remain in several border areas while militia from the Amhara region, which neighbours Tigray, occupy large areas of territory in contested parts of western and southern Tigray, humanitarian workers said. A spokesperson for the Amhara regional government said it and the people of Amhara were "always ready to co-operate with peace deal process and activities".

☆ Iran's top security official to visit the UAE amid regional rapprochement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, March 15 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Shamkhani will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, Nour News, which is affiliated with the Iranian top security body, reported. His visit to Abu Dhabi comes at a time of growing rapprochement between Iran and Gulf countries. News of the visit came as Saudi Arabia's finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, said that Saudi investment in Iran could happen "very quickly" following last week's agreement. "Top economic, banking and security officials will accompany the Supreme National Security Council secretary to the UAE," it added. The UAE has business and trade ties with Iran stretching back more than a century, with the Dubai emirate long being one of Iran's main links to the outside world.

☆ Turkey plans to ratify Finland's NATO bid ahead of May polls, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A senior Turkish official told Reuters that Finland's bid would be approved independently from that of Sweden. Niinisto, who will visit Turkey on March 16-17, said he believed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will give his blessing to Finland's NATO bid when the two meet. Erdogan indicated that he would send ratification of Finland's NATO membership to parliament soon, saying that he would "keep his promise". After that, we will fulfil our promise," Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday, when asked whether he would send ratification of Finland's NATO bid to Turkish parliament next week. "Positive messages will be given to Finland's president during his visit," the second official said.

☆ Government vows aid for tech firms but Israel stocks slide on SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Israel's tech sector is the country's main growth engine, and its relationship with the Silicon Valley region is strong. NextVision (NXSN.TA), a maker of micro stabilised cameras, said in a regulatory filing in Tel Aviv that it withdrew on Thursday almost all of the $2.7 million it held in SVB. The Tel Aviv index of the five largest banks (.TELBANK5) was down 4% in afternoon trading, while the index of eight insurers (.TAINS) fell 4.7%. Israel's two largest banks, Leumi (LUMI.TA) and Hapoalim (POLI.TA), said their tech banking arms would issue loans to startups and other tech firms that were without access to credit in the wake of SVB's collapse. Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Frank Jack Daniel and Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The profits follow similar reports in February from international peers BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron which have mostly posted record profits for last year. Aramco's capital expenditure rose 18% to $37.6 billion in 2022 and the company said it expects this year's spending to be around $45.0 billion to $55.0 billion including external investments. Aramco declared a dividend of $19.5 billion for the fourth quarter, an increase of 4% from the previous quarter. Free cash flow reached a record of $148.5 billion in 2022, compared to $107.5 billion in 2021. Prices cooled rapidly in the second half of 2022 as central banks hiked interest rates and fanned worries of recession.

☆ Iran's behaviour will be under microscope in coming months, say Saudi columnists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

RIYADH, March 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will watch Iran's behaviour during the two-month window agreed upon to restore relations, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, reflecting continued wariness in the longtime rivalry between the region's Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powers. Gulf states have grown increasingly disillusioned with key ally and security guarantor the United States, including over global powers' 2015 nuclear pact with Iran which they deemed flawed for not tackling Iran's missile programme and proxies. "It is natural to have diplomatic ties even if at a low level because Iran's expansionist approach has created many touch points with Saudi Arabia....(But) we have to keep our eyes open," wrote Saudi columnist Tariq al-Homayed. The United States has voiced reservations about deepening ties between Gulf states and its economic rival China, whose president attended a Gulf summit in Riyadh last year at a time of severe strains in the strategic U.S.-Saudi relationship. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have repeatedly said they are looking to diversify their strategic partners while pressing Washington for concrete commitments to regional security.

☆ Record-strength cyclone Freddy pounds Mozambique after making second landfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 12 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy battered central Mozambique on Sunday after making landfall for a second time in a month and breaking records for duration and strength of tropical storms in the southern hemisphere. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, killing 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk of being affected Mozambique this time, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). At least one person was killed there on Saturday when his house collapsed on him as the storm swept onshore, state TV reported. Two weeks ago, 27 died when the storm first made landfall, after first being spotted near Indonesia on Feb. 6.

☆ Iran upholds death sentence of Swedish-Iranian Arab dissident
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Chaab was sentenced to death after several court sessions with the presence of his lawyer ... The Supreme Court confirmed his death sentence," Iran's judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. He was sentenced to death for being "corrupt on earth", a capital offence under Iran’s strict form of Islamic law, Iranian state media said. Arabs and other minorities have long said they face discrimination in Iran, a charge the Islamic Republic denies. Iran has rejected former Iranian official Hamid Noury's sentence as "baseless, distorted and fabricated".

☆ Iran says oil exports hit highest level since reimposition of U.S. sanctions - Tasnim
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, March 12 (Reuters) - Iran's oil exports have reached their highest level since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, the country's Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Sunday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Following the United States' exit from a 2015 nuclear deal and its reimposition of sanctions on Tehran in 2018, Iranian oil exports and revenues have taken a significant hit as few countries - with the notable exception of China - continue to purchase Iranian crude. The oil minister said that 83 million more oil barrels in the current year starting 21st March 2022 were exported compared to the previous Iranian year running March 2021-2022. This represents 190 million more barrels than two years prior according to Owji, who added that gas exports increased by 15% in 2022-23 compared to the previous Iranian year. Brian O'Toole, a former Treasury Department official, said Thursday's action would put a dent in Iran's ability to keep moving oil and get paid for it.

The Treasury said late on Saturday that Hunt would offer financial incentives for parents with young children, disabled people and others to rejoin the workforce in his tax and spending budget plan on Wednesday. The government said it hopes the announcements this week will get hundreds of thousands of people into work. Hunt also plans to allow disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to work without removing their supplementary financial support, the Treasury said. "A Conservative government will always cut taxes when we can, but we won't run out of money. We will be responsible with the public finances," he told Sky News.

☆ Ukraine says Bakhmut battle is grinding down Russia's best units
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/8] Ukrainian servicemen walk along a muddy road near the frontline town of Bakhmut amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 8, 2023. "It has converged on Bakhmut with a large part of its trained military personnel, the remnants of its professional army, as well as the private companies." Russia has made Bakhmut the main target of a winter push involving hundreds of thousands of reservists and mercenaries. But apart from around Bakhmut, the Russian winter offensive has largely failed. Kyiv and the West also saw signs of exhaustion in Russia's latest mass salvo of missile strikes on Ukrainian targets.

☆ German police at scene at hostage situation at Karlsruhe pharmacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] German police sealed the area at the scene of a hostage situation at a pharmacy in the western German city of Karlsruhe, Germany, March 10, 2023. Police in Karlsruhe cordoned off an area in the central part of the city and urged residents to avoid the area. REUTERS/Tilman BlasshoferSummarySummary Companies Police say large deployment sent to Karlsruhe hostage situationCity centre cordoned off, police urge residents to stay awayNo danger to the broader public, police spokespersonFRANKFURT, March 10 (Reuters) - German police said officers were at the scene of a hostage situation in the western German city of Karlsruhe on Friday but that there was no danger to the broader public. Police in Karlsruhe cordoned off an area in the central part of the city and urged residents to avoid the area. The Stuttgarter Zeitung reported that two people had been taken hostage and that there was a demand for a ransom of a single-digit million euro sum.

☆ Iran and Saudi Arabia: Key developments towards resumption of ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after a seven-year diplomatic rupture, according to a statement issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia and China. Here are key dates in Saudi-Iranian relations since the suspension of ties in 2016:Jan. 2, 2016: Saudi Arabia executes nearly 50 people including prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Jan. 3, 2016: Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Iran. Jan. 7, 2016: Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of air strikes on its embassy in Yemen. Sept. 14, 2019: Saudi Arabia blames Iran for attacks on its oil installations that knocked out half of the kingdom's supply.

Search resuls for: "Raissa"

25 mentions found