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☆ Thales cyber push meets investor shoulder shrug
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - France's Thales (TCFP.PA) is doubling down on cybersecurity with its $3.6 billion purchase of U.S. firm Imperva. Thales's boss Patrice Caine briefly considered buying Atos's (ATOS.PA) cybersecurity arm last year, but didn’t go through with it. The purchase values the Thoma Bravo-backed group at 17 times forecast 2024 operating profit, according to Thales. Meanwhile Caine’s push into the racy cyber sector doesn’t seem to register in the group’s valuation. That means investors are sceptical that Thales’s efforts to crack the war against hacking will work out for shareholders.

Persons: Patrice Caine, Thoma, Caine’s, Refinitiv Datastream, Pamela Barbaglia, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Thales, Thoma Bravo, BAE Systems, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, Spain

☆ Next Gucci CEO may have toughest job in luxury
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gucci is getting a new look. Gucci took a harder hit during the pandemic than some mega-brand rivals, then struggled to bounce back. That’s way below the 10% and 15% rise brokers are pencilling in for Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior (DIOR.PA) respectively. All of that makes Gucci CEO job one of the most interesting in the luxury sector – but also possibly the toughest. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Gucci, Marco Bizzarri, Jean, François, Kering’s, Bizzarri, Roberto Eggs, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Karen Kwok, Xavier Niel’s, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Tuesday, Gucci, JPMorgan, Revenue, Alpha, Louis, Hermès, Barclays, Bain & Company, Twitter, Xavier Niel’s GAM, Commonwealth Games, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italian, Kering’s Paris, China, People’s Republic

☆ Atos, tech giants join forces on ethernet consortium
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 19 (Reuters) - A group of tech industry actors including Meta (META.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Intel (INTC.O) and France's Atos (ATOS.PA) have teamed up to form an ethernet consortium in a bid to build up networks suited for artificial intelligence, Atos announced on Wednesday. The consortium will work on minimizing communication stack changes while maintaining and promoting ethernet interoperability, is said in a statement. Other founding members include AMD, Arista, Broadcom, Cisco, and HPE. Reporting by Victor Goury-Laffont, editing by Tassilo HummelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: France's, Atos, Victor Goury, Tassilo Hummel Organizations: Meta, Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Arista, Broadcom, Cisco, Thomson

☆ Factbox: A look at Americans held in the past in North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here are some other Americans held in the past by North Korea. - The last American detained by North Korea was Bruce Byron Lowrance, who was caught after entering from China in October 2018. -Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary, returned to the United States in November 2014 after being imprisoned in North Korea for two years. North Korean media said Park confessed to entering the state illegally and had changed his mind about North Korea after being treated kindly there. - In 1996, Evan Hunziker, then 26, was held for three months in North Korea on spying charges.

Persons: Donald Trump, Tony Kim, Kim Hak, Kim Dong, Jonathan Ernst, Bruce Byron Lowrance, Kim Jong, Otto Warmbier, Joseph Yun, Mike Pompeo, Kim, Kim Sang, Euna Lee, Laura Ling, Bill Clinton, Kenneth Bae, Matthew Todd Miller, Bae, Miller, Robert Park, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, Jimmy Carter, Gomes, Evan Hunziker, Hunziker, Bill Richardson, Thomas Hubbard, Bobby Hall, David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick, Alistair Bell Organizations: Base Andrews, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, North, CIA, U.S . State Department, U.S, Korean, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Base Andrews , Maryland, U.S, North, Washington, China, North Korean, United States, Ohio, Pyongyang, American, Korean, Korea, Boston, South Korea

☆ Luxury tests limits of its immunity to downturns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Compagnie Financiere Richemont (CFR.S) is testing the limits of luxury’s immunity to downturns. Shares of other big luxury players, including $236 billion Hermes International (HRMS.PA) and $502 billion LVMH (LVMH.PA), also fell 4.2% and 3.7% respectively. The top 5% of wealthiest shoppers who are probably less sensitive to inflation drove around 40% of global luxury sales last year, according to Boston Consulting Group. Shares in the European luxury sector are on average up 69% since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile, revenue in Asia, which makes up 40% of Richemont's revenue, grew 40% year-on-year in the last quarter.

Persons: Cartier, U.S . downer, Karen Kwok, George Hay, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Financiere, Hermes, Boston Consulting, Citi, U.S ., Twitter, Cathay, Thomson Locations: Asia

☆ Morning Bid: China falls short and oil ebbs but banks impress
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sub-forecast and sharply slowing retail sales growth for June likewise offset a more upbeat industrial output readout for the months. Even though falling import and export prices in June reinforced the disinflation picture, two-year Treasury yields recouped some of the week's steep declines. LUXURY FIRMSU.S. stock futures were little changed ahead of Monday's open, but two-year Treasury yields edged back lower to 4.72%. Elsewhere, shares of Richemont (CFR.S) dropped nearly 7% after the world's second-biggest luxury firm reported a miss in its sales and amid the China growth dampener. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she was working with India on energy transition and "eager" to work with China on debt workouts.

Persons: Mike Dolan China's, Wells, Morgan Stanley, Janet Yellen, Mike Dolan, Alison Williams Organizations: Hong, Reserve, Nasdaq, Treasury, JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America, Tesla, Netflix, York Federal, governor's, . Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Asia, Shanghai, Wall, Richemont, India, Russia, China . U.S

☆ Italy's luxury groups set aside rivalries to keep it local
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Elisa Anzolin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SMALL MANUFACTURERS APLENTYItaly is home to thousands of small manufacturers that cover 50-55% of the global production of luxury clothing and leather goods, consultancy Bain calculates. LVMH announced in May it had taken a majority stake in Nuti Ivo Group, an Italian company that has specialised in making leather products since 1955. Kering managing director Jean-Francois Palus said the luxury group is increasingly looking to bring production in house. "Italy has not created a (major) luxury hub, but we have entrepreneurs who have the ability to activate the right relationships at the right time," said Stefania Lazzaroni, general manager at Italian luxury industry association Altagamma. "Italian groups are now more managerialised, more organised and also stronger, which makes them more open to thinking together," he said.

Persons: Luigi Fedeli e, Zegna, Gildo Zegna, Ermenegildo, Kering, LVMH, Jean, Francois Palus, It's, Chanel, Brunello, Stefania Lazzaroni, Prada, Roberto Costa, Bertelli, Elisa Anzolin, Silvia Aloisi, Keith Weir, Jane Merriman Organizations: France MILAN, Prada, Filati Biagioli Modesto S.p.A, Biagioli, Prada Group, Reuters, Bain, Group, Nazionale della Moda, Global Luxury Investment Banking, Citigroup, Thomson Locations: Italy, France, Italian, Monza, Milan, Filati Biagioli, Bertelli, Nuti

☆ Lightning Can Strike, but It Can’t Hide From a New Satellite
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Nicholas Bakalar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States has been tracking lightning in North and South America since 2017, using the Geostationary Lightning Mapper aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, known as GOES. “We are able to detect even a single lightning bolt, while GOES can detect only a group of events. And in terms of energy, we can detect weaker lightning strikes.”The data from the imager will be useful in weather prediction, said Carlo Simoncelli, a program manager at Leonardo. Lightning is associated with tornadoes, and there is a large increase in lightning that remains within clouds about a half-hour before a tornado. “But if you look at lightning reflecting over the ocean or just during the daytime, it’s much more difficult.”

Persons: ”, Leonardo S.p.A, Carlo Simoncelli, Leonardo, Lightning, Simoncelli, “, Ms, Pastorini Organizations: Oceanographic, Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Locations: United States, North, South America, Europe, Africa

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) ended 0.7% higher, rising for the third straight session. Irish stocks (.ISEQ) jumped 2.1%, leading the advance among its continental peers. Irish stocks were boosted by gains in Kingspan (KSP.I) which jumped 15.7% after forecasting record profit for the first half of the year. Shares of China-exposed luxury firms including LVMH (LVMH.PA), Hermes (HRMS.PA) and Richemont (CFR.S) rose between 2% and 2.3% while industrial stocks (.SXNP) also sensitive to China advanced 1.0%. Mercedes-Benz Group (MBGn.DE) shares rose 0.7% after sales in the second quarter rose 6% year-on-year on the back of demand for all-electric and top-end vehicles.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Richard Flax, Matteo Allievi, Shreyashi Sanyal, Rashmi Aich, Nivedita, Emelia Organizations: Miners, U.S . Federal Reserve, LVMH, CMC Markets, tomorrow's U.S, Nordic Semiconductor, Daimler, Benz Group, Thomson Locations: China, Kingspan, Europe, U.S, tomorrow's, Britain, Gdansk, Amruta, Bangalore

☆ China growth concerns weigh on European shares at open
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is seen during the company's shareholders meeting in Paris, France, April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo/File PhotoJuly 5 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday as fresh data pointing to China's faltering economic recovery soured investor sentiment, which has been under pressure from uncertainty about future monetary policy steps by major central banks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was down 0.4% by 7:02 GMT, following a quiet session on Tuesday when the U.S. markets were closed for Independence Day. Miners (.SXPP) fell 1.0% and were the biggest sectoral decliners as concerns around weak demand from top consumer China, as well as slowing growth in other major economies, hurt metal prices. Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Gonzalo Fuentes, Pernod Ricard, Hermes, Amruta Khandekar, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: REUTERS, Independence, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, China

☆ Ferrari launches two hybrid models in limited series based on SF90 supercar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Copyright Ferrari S.p.a./Handout via REUTERS TCompanies Ferrari NV FollowMILAN, June 29 (Reuters) - Luxury sports automaker Ferrari (RACE.MI) on Thursday unveiled two new plug-in hybrid models, produced in limited series and hitting the top end of the its price range. Based on 2019's SF90 Stradale supercar, the Prancing Horse's first ever series hybrid car, the two new road-homologated models are inspired by Ferrari's XX programme. The SF90 XX Stradale will have a starting price of 770,000 euros ($840,378) while the SF90 XX Spider, equipped with retractable top, of 850,000 euros, Ferrari said. Performance is boosted by an 8-cylinder, 4-litre combustion engine coupled with three electric motors capable of a total 1,030 horse power, 30 more than the SF90 Stradale. The lithium-ion batteries of the new SF90 XX Stradale and SF90 XX Spider will allow them for a 25 kilometre range in fully-electric mode.

Persons: Ferrari S.p.a, Ferrari's, Ferrari, Giulio Piovaccari, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Ferrari, REUTERS, Companies, MILAN, Luxury, Thomson Locations: Europe

☆ New Brazil poll shows President Lula's approval rating "stable" at 37%
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, June 17 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva entered his sixth month in office with a 37% approval rating and a 27% disapproval rating, according to a Datafolha poll released Saturday, showing a stable result compared to the same pollster's data released in March. The poll shows that 33% of those interviewed said they consider left-wing Lula as "average", while 3% had no opinion. In the previous survey, Lula had an approval rating of 38%, while 29% disapproved. Datafolha surveyed 2,010 voters in 112 municipalities across the country from June 12 to 14, and the poll has a margin of error of two percentage points. Reporting by Steven Grattan; Editing by Franklin PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Datafolha, Steven Grattan, Franklin Paul Organizations: SAO PAULO, Folha, S.Paulo, Franklin Paul Our, Thomson

☆ A guy who started a website that tracks orca incidents with boats near Spain and Portugal said that encounters are at least every day now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A man who has been tracking sightings and attacks said there's "one incident every day, on average." In some cases, there's been more than one reported attack in a single day in June, so far. The map shows 10 attacks since June 1 and an additional 12 orca sightings in the same time period. For example, on June 3, there were four identified orca attacks and on June 8, there were two. If you spread the word about something that happens in an area, people will avoid that area," Alves told PBS.

Persons: there's, —, Rui Alves, Alves, They've Organizations: Service, PBS Locations: Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.2% higher, with the DAX (.GDAXI) up 0.9%. Luxury majors LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Hermes (HRMS.PA) climbed 1.8% and 3%, respectively, further supporting the STOXX 600. Meetings of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are lined up for the week. The STOXX 600 started the year on a stronger footing compared to the S&P 500 index (.SPX) but lost steam during the second quarter due to a rise in preference for growth-oriented stocks as opposed to value stocks. Shares in SES tumbled 14.6% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after the satellite company announced its chief executive Steve Collar would step down.

Persons: BOJ, Bernstein, DAX, Lionel Messi's, Hermes, Daniela Hathorn, Sergio Ermotti, he’s, Michael Hewson, Silvio Berlusconi, Steve Collar, Shreyashi Sanyal, Bansari, Eileen Soreng Organizations: Fed, ECB, Adidas, UBS, CS, Inter Miami, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Credit Suisse, CMC Markets, MEDIAFOREUROPE, Italian, Novartis, Seattle, Chinook Therapeutics, SES, BNP, Exane, Thomson Locations: Europe, Bengaluru

PARIS, June 7 (Reuters) - Atos (ATOS.PA), the struggling French IT consulting firm planning to split into two listed entities, said it expected sales at loss-making unit Tech Foundations to hit bottom in 2024. That will see it separate Tech Foundations from Eviden, which groups Atos' most coveted assets such as cybersecurity division BDS and supercomputers. Co-CEO Nourdine Bihmane said on a call with reporters that the split-up plan was "on the verge to be completed in the main countries". He also said plans to sell 700 million euros of assets, deemed crucial to finance the company's turnaround plan, were "almost completed". About 20% of that 1.2 billion-euro turnaround plan, which entails laying off about 7,500 people, has been achieved, he said.

Persons: Atos, Nourdine Bihmane, Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Mark Potter Organizations: Tech, Eviden, Thomson

"Inflation expectations are still very high," Campos Neto told a seminar hosted by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo on Monday, highlighting elevated long-term forecasts as particularly problematic. "Long-term forecasts remained little changed," the central bank chief said. "And we have a problem that are long-term inflation expectations persistently stuck around 4%". In the minutes of its May meeting, the central bank expressed concerns about inflation expectations, saying it continued "to assess that de-anchored expectations raise the cost of bringing inflation back to the target". Campos Neto acknowledged that headline inflation has been slowing down in Brazil, but noted that the core index remains "high" and "well above target".

☆ Burberry fourth quarter sales jump 16% as China rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - British luxury fashion brand Burberry (BRBY.L) reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter sales on Thursday, boosted by a rebound in its largest market China following three years of COVID-19 restrictions. In the quarter to April 1, comparable store sales rose 16%, accelerating from 1% in the third quarter and above a company compiled consensus of 14%. Sales in Mainland China rose 13%. "We have delivered a strong financial performance, supported by good progress in our core leather goods and outerwear categories, with revenue accelerating in the fourth quarter as growth rebounded in Mainland China," chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd said in a statement on Thursday. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) group's luxury rivals LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Hermes (HRMS.PA) have also reported a bounce in first quarter sales due to a recovery in China and wider Asian markets.

HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investing in China need not be too stressful, provided you avoid investing in Chinese companies. A spending pop in the transport, food and beverage and hospitality sectors helped lift first-quarter GDP to 4.5%. But that data was flattered by comparison to a grim 2022, and April data on imports, inflation and bank loans all disappointed. While Beijing’s crackdowns on domestic technology companies and property developers have eased, other risks are rising. Separately, quarterly revenue at Alibaba is expected to rise 3% year-on-year to 211 billion yuan ($30.5 billion) in the three months to March, according to the average analyst forecast on Refinitiv.

☆ Opinion | How to Think About the New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Mehra Golshan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

We have also learned over time that not all breast cancer tumors grow or spread at the same rate. For example, a type of breast cancer that I’ve studied, called ductal carcinoma in situ — also known as stage 0 breast cancer — may never progress to invasive disease in a person’s lifetime, and so may require less therapy. Detecting cancer becomes more challenging when trying to distinguish cancer, which also appears white on a mammogram, from dense breast tissue. The task force acknowledged that dense breasts can increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer and that certain race or ethnicity groups are at higher risk for early-onset breast cancer. Black women under 50, for example, die of breast cancer at twice the rate of white women under 50 in the United States.

☆ When Should Women Get Regular Mammograms? At 40, U.S. Panel Now Says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Roni Caryn Rabin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But there have been troubling trends in breast cancer in recent years. They include an apparent increase in the number of cancers diagnosed in women under 50 and a failure to narrow the survival gap for younger Black women, who die of breast cancer at twice the rate of white women of the same age. The panel has said there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations one way or the other for women who were 75 and older. had for the first time commissioned studies of breast cancer specifically among Black women, as well as for all women, and needed more research into the factors driving the racial disparity. The task force also is calling for a clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of annual and biennial screening among Black women.

But with flights remaining limited after China's border reopening in January, European luxury stores will need to wait longer for the return of masses of tourists they once depended on for growth. The average transaction value by Chinese travellers in Europe in March was 28% above 2019 levels, UBS said, citing data from VAT refund provider Planet. Cartier-owner Richemont (CFR.S), Hermes (HRMS.PA) and LVMH were best placed to benefit from wealthy Chinese shoppers, UBS added. As wealthy Chinese return to Europe and other foreign destinations, the appeal of China's Hainan Island, a duty free shopping hotspot, appears to be waning among top luxury spenders. China's "higher income, top luxury spenders (are) already travelling abroad again," she said, leading to an observable lower per-capita spend in Hainan.

☆ An Architect Known for Building Castles in the ‘Vegetable Kingdom’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Matt Shaw | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This article is part of our Design special section about making the environment a creative partner in the design of beautiful homes. This exterior portion would be a 20-story “vertical garden,” which would cool the building by shading it with flowers and plants that would change colors seasonally. Though the green facade was never built, it represented a typical confrontation by a fearless pioneer. No polluting, extractive governmental bully was going to shrivel his environmental dreams. Now 79 and a witness to many trendy environmental innovations, including verdant towers, Mr. Ambasz finds that rather than outracing his times, he is running neck-and-neck with them.

☆ Atos' cybersecurity unit drives sales ahead of split
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Home to assets deemed strategic by the French government, Atos is striving to regain investor confidence after several setbacks, heavy losses and sharp stock swings precipitated by governance instability. Eviden groups Atos' most coveted assets such as cybersecurity division BDS and supercomputers, fuelling speculation about interest from other players in the cybersecurity field, such as Thales (TCFP.PA). First-quarter revenue was up 2.8% from a year earlier to 2.81 billion euros ($3.11 billion), beating the analyst consensus provided by the company. Atos said its much-expected shareholder meeting would take place on June 28, amid strong criticism from some investors of board chairman Bertrand Meunier. ($1 = 0.9047 euros)Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ French police working with EU on luxury antitrust probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - French police are involved in an ongoing investigation relating to a probe by EU antitrust regulators into possible violations by European luxury companies, a police spokesperson said on Friday. The European Commission said on Tuesday that antitrust regulators had raided companies in the fashion sector in multiple EU countries, but did not name the companies involved or specify the potential breaches it was investigating. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Milan headquarters of Gucci, owned by Kering (PRTP.PA), had been inspected by Italian tax police and EU antitrust officials as part of the probe. Kering confirmed the inspection and said it was fully cooperating with the European Commission. Asked by Reuters if French companies had also been targeted by the EU inspections, which would be conducted in cooperation with local authorities, a police spokesperson said: "We're in an ongoing investigation", declining to elaborate.

☆ Airbus tells shareholders Europe needs to 'get its act together' on autonomy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The chairman of Europe's largest aerospace group, Rene Obermann, told investors last year's invasion of Ukraine by Russia had been a wake-up call. "It has highlighted the essential role that defence plays in society and that European nations need to get their act together for higher levels of strategic autonomy. "We are committed to playing a role of enabler for more co-operation in defence, which we believe is one of the key prerequisites to make sure that Europe maintains its strategic autonomy, Obermann said. He also cited sovereign capabilities for which Europe does not want to depend on the United States. DEFENCE DIVIDENDFrench President Emmanuel Macron is pursing an agenda to beef up Europe's "strategic autonomy" separate from the U.S.-led NATO umbrella, with eastern allies trusting the United States more for their defence.

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