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☆ Fresenius in talks about deconsolidation of FMC - WirtschaftsWoche
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The chief executive of German health care group Fresenius (FREG.DE) is preparing a deconsolidation of Fresenius and its struggling subsidiary Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) (FMEG.DE), business magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported on Thursday, citing sources close to the supervisory board. Chief Executive Michael Sen's goal is for Fresenius to relinquish control over FMC and no longer have to fully consolidate the dialysis company, WirtschaftsWoche added. Shares in Fresenius rose 5% to a five-month high soon after the report was published while FMC shares slipped 2% initially. Sen is negotiating the plan with the major shareholder Else-Kroener-Fresenius-Stiftung, which controls Fresenius, WirtschaftsWoche reported. U.S.-focused kidney dialysis specialist FMC's chief executive stepped down in December, marking the second leadership change in as many months.

☆ U.S. lawmakers try again to end 'forever war' authorizations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A U.S. soldier stands guard during a peace conference in al-Zawra amusement park in Baghdad November 7, 2008. The conference was organized by the U.S. military forces and in cooperation with Iraqi artists union and Baghdad's municipality. "The 1991 and 2002 AUMFs are no longer necessary, serve no operational purpose, and run the risk of potential misuse. Yet the legacy of these horrific forever wars lives on in the form of the now-obsolete 2002 and 1991 AUMFs," Lee said in a statement. Under the Constitution, Congress, not the president, has the right to declare war.

Navy photo/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to the Chinese military that supported the incursion by a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. Sherman also said the United States would continue to prevent China’s exploitation of U.S. technology to enable its own military modernization. China's foreign ministry has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course and accused the United States of overreacting. The public spectacle of a Chinese balloon drifting slowly across the United States has brought into sharp focus the challenge posed by China to the United States and its allies. An Asia diplomat told Reuters there was a free flow of information about the balloon, with the United States passing on additional details to allies and partner as they became available.

☆ Biden vows "to protect" country in State of the Union speech, refers to China balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I'm committed to work with China where we can advance American interests and benefit the world," Biden said. "But make no mistake about it: as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. Investing in American innovation, in industries that will define the future, that China intends to be dominating," Biden said. Democrats have joined Republicans in demanding more information about the balloon and the Biden administration's policy toward the government in Beijing. We built a global coalition," Biden said, vowing to stand with Ukraine "as long as it takes."

☆ Binance.US CFO Says Customer Funds Are Safe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S.-based arm of crypto exchange Binance doesn’t lend out customer assets and doesn’t commingle deposits with the larger platform, its financial chief said Wednesday. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team. “At Binance.US, customer assets are theirs,” she said. So that’s the extent of our relationship,” Ms. Lee said. “As far as the business activities go, we do not commingle customers’ assets.

☆ Bayer picks outsider Anderson as CEO after investor pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

News of the CEO change sent the German drugs-to-pesticides giant's shares to their highest level in nearly eight months. Shares in Bayer closed up 6% on the news of the new CEO, reaching the top of Frankfurt's blue-chip index and hitting their highest level since June last year. "Bill Anderson's mission is clear: enable Bayer to realize its full potential and create sustainable value for our shareholders, farmers, patients, consumers, employees, and all stakeholders of the company," Winkeljohann added. Sources told Reuters earlier this week that activist investor Jeff Ubben had contacted fellow investors to drum up support for big changes at Bayer, including the swift replacement of Baumann. Reporting by Patricia Weiss, Kirsti Knolle and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Tom Sims and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The campaign increases the pressure on non-executive Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann, who has faced calls from large shareholders for the swift replacement of Chief Executive Werner Baumann, who engineered Bayer's troubled Monsanto takeover. The approaches come after Ubben's activist investment fund Inclusive Capital Partners said last month it had bought a 0.83% stake in Bayer. David Herro, deputy chairman of Harris Associates, told Reuters in brief emailed comments that Ubben had contacted him to discuss Bayer. A spokesperson said Bayer was always open to a constructive dialogue with shareholders and declined to comment further. Investors who have publicly called for a swift CEO change hold at least a combined 6.7% in Bayer, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Want Big-Skirt Energy? How to Master the Statement Look
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Fiorella Valdesolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

A drenching is always amusing, but it’s her tutu that makes that scene indelible. The show’s costume designer, Patricia Field, was insistent on the garment, saying in an interview, “Whatever she’s wearing has to be completely original to last in time.”That iconic look embodies “big-skirt energy,” a mood dominating the resort and spring 2023 collections. A skirt needn’t literally be big to possess BSE. But whether maxi or midi, spangled or satin, printed or plain, it must project outsize attitude. And women are gravitating to that, reports Marc Rofsky, a buying director at e-commerce site Moda Operandi, who’s seen year-over-year, double-digit growth in skirts between October and January 2023.

☆ Bitcoin Prices Rally as Larger Traders Take Charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Larger investors appear to be powering a recovery in bitcoin prices, as the sway of smaller individual traders over cryptocurrency markets wanes. Based on end-of-day trading prices, bitcoin has rallied about 51% from a nadir hit in November, after the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It was quoted late Thursday at about $23,600, and drifted slightly lower in early trading Friday. Other tokens such as ether and dogecoin have also rebounded. The recovery mirrors a rebound in other risky assets, such as some high-growth technology stocks.

☆ Caribbean Seeks Venezuela’s Oil and Gas as U.S. Relaxes Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Patricia Garip | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Production has plummeted at Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA, which operates these facilities on Lake Maracaibo. Caribbean countries battered by high energy costs are turning to Venezuela for oil and gas as the U.S. eases sanctions that have kept its supplies off limits for years. Trinidad and Tobago received a U.S. Treasury Department license in January to develop a Venezuelan gas field. A prospective refinery operator in Curaçao is seeking to buy Venezuelan crude oil. And officials on other islands have said they hope to restore Venezuelan fuel imports.

☆ Deutsche Bank Profit Rises on Booming Lending Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Deutsche Bank AG’s net profit rose in the fourth quarter on the back of higher interest rates, driving the lender to post its strongest year since 2007. The result vindicates efforts by Chief Executive Christian Sewing to rein in a bank that for years was among the world’s most troubled, following major scandals, regulatory fines and profit struggles.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from a high-profile committee over remarks widely condemned as antisemitic, two years after Democrats removed two Republicans from committee assignments. The deeply divided House voted 218-211 along party lines to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee with Republicans citing the 2019 remarks for which she later apologized. She was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel's Africa subcommittee. [1/6] U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) walks to her office after being ousted by the Republican-lead House of Representatives to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2023. McCarthy previously rejected assignments of Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

FRANKFURT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A top-10 shareholder of Bayer (BAYGn.DE) on Tuesday called on the group's supervisory board head to replace chief executive Werner Baumann quickly, adding to investor pressure to restore trust and revive the German drugmaker's sagging share price. But shareholders have also cited a lack of market trust in its top management as a growing burden. "When it comes to CEO succession we say: the sooner the better," Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Union Investment, one of Bayer's 10 biggest shareholders, told Reuters. Union Investment's Manns cautioned that the non-executive supervisory board may need time to find a qualified candidate. A Bayer spokesperson said the company was always open to a constructive dialogue with shareholders and declined to comment further.

☆ U.S. readies $2 billion-plus Ukraine aid package with longer-range weapons -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The aid is expected to be announced as soon as this week, the officials said. It is also expected to include support equipment for Patriot air defense systems, precision-guided munitions and Javelin anti-tank weapons, they added. At the time it was expected GLSDB could be in Ukraine by spring. That aid was expected to include mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs), guided multiple launch rocket systems (GMLRS) and ammunition. The U.S. has sent approximately $27.2 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion.

☆ U.S. says Russia violating New START nuclear arms control treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Delegates from Russia attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York City, New York, U.S., August 1, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday accused Russia of violating the New START Treaty, the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between the two countries, saying Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory. The two countries, which during the Cold War were constrained by a tangle of arms control agreements, still account together for about 90% of the world's nuclear warheads. "The New START Treaty remains in the national security interests of the United States," the spokesperson said. Asked if Moscow could envisage there being no nuclear arms control treaty after 2026, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA state new agency: "This is quite a possible scenario."

☆ 10 things about ancient Egypt that movies and TV got wrong, according to an expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Carter Thallon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Movies and television shape what people think about ancient Egypt. Here are 10 things that "Moon Knight", "The Mummy", and others got wrong and one they got right. When it comes to ancient Egypt, they can draw the portrait of pharaohs ruling Egypt with an iron fist, cruel torture, and wicked booby-trapped pyramids. "All of the sarcophagi that I've seen in Egypt were made of stone," said Browder, an author of several books on ancient Egypt. The curse that set Imhotep on his murderous path in "The Mummy" has no historical basisIn "The Mummy," Imhotep was mummified alive.

☆ Exclusive: EU may pay more for Pfizer COVID shots in return for lower volume
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Pfizer spokesperson declined to comment on details of the discussions, but said the company has shown ongoing commitment to accommodating EU member state concerns. Most people in the EU who wanted a primary course of the COVID-19 vaccine, and those who were later eligible for boosters, have received them. In May 2021, Brussels signed a contract with Pfizer and BioNTech to buy 900 million doses, with an option for an additional 900 million doses, by the end of 2023. Around half or more of the first 900 million doses from that contract have not yet been delivered because demand dropped last year. That came after EU governments warned Pfizer and other companies that millions of doses could go to waste.

☆ Brazilian court orders seizure of emails of bankrupt retailer Americanas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Brazilian court has ordered the seizure of all corporate emails of managers and board members from bankrupt retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) sent and received over the last 10 years, according to documents seen by Reuters. Bradesco said it was seeking evidence for potential litigation against Americanas, its managers, and potentially its controlling shareholders over "abuse of power." Americanas' largest shareholders are the billionaire founders of 3G Capital, Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles. The judge also ordered the seizure of all emails of employees in the finance and accounting division. Americanas is one of Brazil's largest retailers and has been in business for over 90 years.

☆ Bank of America announced a new class of managing directors — here are all 87 names in corporate and investment banking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bank of America has announced a new class of 360 managing directors. Insider has the list of the 87 new MDs for the firm's Global Corporate and Investment Bank. It's managing director promotion day at Bank of America. On Thursday, the class of 360 managing directors across the firm were announced internally, up 15% from the 314 promoted in 2022.Insider has the list of the 87 employees who were promoted in the firm's Global Corporate and Investment Bank — the division responsible for dealmaking. That's down 17% from 105 new MDs last year in the division, likely a reflection of a difficult year in investment banking across Wall Street that saw revenues drop in excess of 50%.

☆ Divided U.S. House members spar over national security committee seats
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reflecting the bitter divide in the newly seated House, where Republicans hold a slim majority, McCarthy on Tuesday formally rejected Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell as members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. McCarthy, who as speaker can act unilaterally appoint the members of a select committee like the intelligence panel, insists he is acting in the best security interests of the country. McCarthy and other Republican leaders also said they do not want Representative Ilhan Omar to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. At least two have said they opposed her removal; Republicans have only a five-seat majority in the House. Gosar also had posted a video on social media showing him appearing to kill another House member, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

☆ U.S. lawmakers praise Zelenskiy for fighting corruption, back continued aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers praised Ukraine's government on Tuesday for taking swift action against corruption and insisted that U.S. military and humanitarian aid to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government should continue. We expect that President Zelenskiy will follow through with a promise he made that Ukraine is going to change on the corruption front," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told a news conference days after returning from Kyiv. "We're confident this is a first step in a long journey to change the way business is done," Graham said. "It demonstrates what President Zelenskiy has told us, that there will be zero tolerance for fraud or waste," he said. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who was also on the Kyiv trip, praised the Ukrainian military for keeping track of equipment provided by Washington.

☆ In Mexico, a reporter published a story. The next day he was dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Sarah Kinosian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

A day earlier, Lopez–who ran two online news sites in the southern Oaxaca state–had published a story on Facebook accusing local politician Arminda Espinosa Cartas of corruption related to her re-election efforts. As he lay dead, a nearby patrol car responded to an emergency call, intercepted the pickup and arrested the two men. "In silence zones people don't get access to basic information to conduct their lives," said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ's Mexico representative. The infrastructure was a part of the Interoceanic Corridor–one of Lopez Obrador's flagship development projects in southern Mexico. "You would think the biggest enemy would be armed groups and organized crime," said journalist Patricia Mayorga, who fled Mexico after investigating corruption.

☆ In Mexico, a reporter published a story. The next day he was shot dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Sarah Kinosian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

One man got out, walked inside and shot the 42-year-old journalist dead. As he lay dead, a nearby patrol car responded to an emergency call, intercepted the pickup and arrested the two men. "In silence zones people don't get access to basic information to conduct their lives," said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ's Mexico representative. One of those killed was Gustavo Sanchez, a journalist shot at close range in June 2021 by two motorcycle-riding hitmen. "You would think the biggest enemy would be armed groups and organized crime," said journalist Patricia Mayorga, who fled Mexico after investigating corruption.

The Sundance Film Festival has long been known for premiering some of the most original — and ultimately the most award-winning — indie titles of the year. As the most notable international film festivals increasingly feature queer titles in their lineups, it’s no surprise that much of the exciting content premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival comes from LGBTQ filmmakers or features queer themes. The Premieres sectionAs usual, many of the year’s most high-profile films, including those from queer creators and featuring queer storylines, are coming out of the festival’s Premieres section. Courtesy of Sundance InstituteEnglert’s film will screen in the world cinema dramatic section alongside queer films “Girl,” from U.K. filmmaker Adura Onashile, and “Mamacruz,” from Spanish director Patricia Ortega. The list of LGBTQ creators and titles doesn’t end there, making this perhaps the most significant Sundance Film Festival for queer cinema yet.

☆ Photos show 10 mummified crocodiles found in an Egyptian tomb, likely after being sacrificed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A ancient Egyptian tomb was uncovered containing ten mummified crocodiles. The tomb's contents was likely sacrificed for the crocodile-headed god Sobek. The leading theory is that the crocodiles were sacrificed as an offering to Sobek, the crocodile-headed god of the Nile and fertility. Sobek, the crocodile-headed god of fertilitySobek, the crocodile-headed god of fertility, is shown in hieroglyphs in Kom Ombo, southern Egypt. "In theory, it was an area where there was not much devotion to the crocodile god Sobek."

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