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☆ Swedish govt says Estonia has linked Baltic cable, pipeline damages
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Estonian Navy conducts an undersea communications cable survey after a subsea gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea was damaged, in the Gulf of Finland, October 10, 2023. Estonian Navy Handout/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Estonia believes that damage to a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Estonia is related to damage to a pipeline and cable between Estonia and Finland, Sweden's government said on Monday. On Oct. 8 a subsea gas pipeline and telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia were damaged, in what Finnish investigators believe may have been deliberate sabotage. Bohlin added that Estonia had assessed that "the damage to the gas pipeline and communications cable between Finland and Estonia is related to the damage to the communications cable between Sweden and Estonia". NATO has said it is stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea following the incidents, which have stoked concerns about the security of energy supplies in the wider Nordic region.

Persons: Sweden's, Carl, Oskar Bohlin, Bohlin, Sevmorput, Simon Johnson, Jan Harvey, Emelia Organizations: Estonian Navy, REUTERS, Rights, Civil Defence, NATO, National Bureau of Investigation, Thomson Locations: Finland, Estonia, Baltic, Gulf of Finland, Handout, Rights STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Helsinki, Tallinn, Russia, Germany

☆ Nestle, Volvo among 130 companies urging COP28 agreement to ditch fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Tommy Wilkes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Companies including Nestle (NESN.S), Unilever (ULVR.L), Mahindra Group and Volvo Cars are urging political leaders to agree a timeline at the upcoming U.N. climate summit to phase out fossil fuels. "Our businesses are feeling the impacts and cost of increasing extreme weather events resulting from climate change," the companies wrote in the letter, which was coordinated by the non-profit We Mean Business Coalition, which is pushing for greater climate action globally. "To decarbonise the global energy system, we need to ramp up clean energy as fast as we phase out the use and production of fossil fuels," they wrote. The speed at which countries should phase out fossil fuels will be one of the thorniest issues. Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: COP28, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Companies, Nestle, Unilever, Mahindra Group, Volvo, Business Coalition, Bayer, Heineken, IKEA, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Paris, Europe

France, where Ryanair serves cities such as Marseille and Bordeaux, has floated proposals for a minimum ticket price in an effort to reduce pollution from aviation. The French price proposal, which EU officials said has drawn some support from the Netherlands and Belgium, got short shrift from senior Ryanair executive Eddie Wilson. Having established a strong position in large parts of Western Europe, Ryanair is now looking east to countries such as Poland for further growth. Europe's main airlines lobby group expressed relief and called on more European coordination to support the sector. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said a stronger ITA will reinvigorate competition in the Italian market but Ryanair's Wilson is unperturbed, describing ITA as a sideshow.

Persons: Eddie Wilson, Wilson, Andrea Giuricin, Giorgia, Giuseppe Cocuzza, Ourania Georgoutsakou, Carsten Spohr, Ryanair's Wilson, Rome Fiumicino, Sacbo, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Joanna Plucinska, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Ryanair, Europe's, European Union, Ryanair DAC, Alitalia, TRA Consulting, European Commission, Airlines for, ITA, Lufthansa, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Thomson Locations: Italy, ROME, France, Marseille, Bordeaux, Sicily, Sardinia, Netherlands, Belgium, Europe, Western Europe, Poland, Rome, Catania, Airlines for Europe, Bergamo, Milan, Malpensa, Brescia, London

☆ Dollar mixed after earlier bounce on strong US retail sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Retail sales rose 0.7% last month as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and spent more at restaurants and bars. Despite the positive sales, Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, noted that there are some headwinds affecting U.S. consumers. "Investors need to look underneath the sales figures to get a better look on the health of the consumer. Rising use of credit and early signs of delinquencies could dampen some of the enthusiasm," he said in a note. Fed funds futures traders are pricing in a 43% chance of an additional interest rate hike this year, but only 12% odds of a rate increase next month, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, ”, Marc Chandler, Jeffrey Roach, Jerome Powell, Thomas Barkin, Sterling, Karen Brettell, Samuel Indyk, Emelia Sithole, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Bannockburn Global Forex, LPL Financial, Fed, Richmond Fed, Traders, Bank of Japan, U.S, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bannockburn

☆ Basel proposes crypto disclosures by banks from January 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Basel Committee of banking regulators from the world's main financial centres agreed new rules last December on how much capital banks should hold to cover different types of cryptoassets. On Tuesday, they set out for public consultation how the holdings should be disclosed to investors. "Under the proposals, banks would be required to disclose qualitative information on their activities related to cryptoassets and quantitative information on exposures to cryptoassets and the related capital and liquidity requirements," the Basel Committee said in a statement. Banks would also be required to provide details of the accounting classifications of their exposures to cryptoassets and crypto liabilities, it said. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Banks, Jan, Huw Jones, Kirsten Donovan, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Global, Committee, Thomson Locations: cryptoassets

[1/2] A BR700-725 jet engine is seen at the assembly line of the Rolls-Royce Germany plant, in Dahlewitz near Berlin, Germany February 28, 2023. Tufan Erginbilgic, who took over in January, is the latest chief executive to try to tackle the company's inefficiencies. On Tuesday the company said it planned to shed up to 2,500 roles out of its total staff of 42,000. "This is another step on our multi-year transformation journey to build a high performing, competitive, resilient and growing Rolls-Royce," he said. One in 2020 aimed at surviving the pandemic which slashed 9,000 jobs, and one in 2018 which made 4,600 redundancies.

Persons: Nadja Wohlleben, Grazia Vittadini, Tufan Erginbilgic, Royce, Warren East, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Royce, REUTERS, Airbus, Boeing, General Electric, Tuesday, Warren, Thomson Locations: Royce Germany, Dahlewitz, Berlin, Germany, Britain, United States

☆ Chinese AI startup Baichuan raises $300 mln from Alibaba, Tencent, others
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG/BEIJING, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup Baichuan has raised $300 million from investors including Chinese tech giants Alibaba (9988.HK) and Tencent (0700.HK), it said on Tuesday. The company said on its WeChat account that the round followed an early $50 million angel round. China's craze over generative AI has triggered a flurry of product and fundraising announcements from startups and tech giants, as the industry races to find a homegrown rival to Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT. Shunwei Capital, a venture capital firm chaired by Xiaomi's chief executive Lei Jun, participated in the capital raise, according to a source familiar with the matter. Baidu (9888.HK) on Tuesday unveiled the newest version of its generative AI model, Ernie 4.0, saying its capabilities were on par with OpenAI's pioneering GPT-4 model, but analysts cautioned the launch lacked major highlights versus the previous version.

Persons: Wang Xiaochuan, Baichuan, Lei Jun, Shunwei, Ernie, Josh Ye, Roxanne Liu, Jason Neely, Emelia Organizations: HK, Microsoft, Shunwei, Baidu, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, BEIJING, Hong Kong, Beijing

☆ EU securities watchdog warns investors over crypto market protections
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Regulating crypto has become more urgent for regulators after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and with huge volatility in bitcoin prices. "Even with the implementation of MiCA, retail investors must be aware that there will be no such thing as a ‘safe’ cryptoasset," the EU watchdog said in a statement. Full protections may not be available in EU states that grant an 18-month transitional period for crypto firms to operate without an EU licence, meaning customers may not be covered until July 2026. A significant number of crypto firms would probably continue to offer their services under the transitional terms until mid-2026, ESMA said. Crypto firms from non-EU countries will be allowed to provide services to customers in the bloc that have specifically requested them, and even then only on a "strictly limited" basis.

Persons: Bitcoin, Dado, ESMA, Crypto, Huw Jones, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Union, EU, European Securities and Markets Authority, Thomson

☆ Trump committed egregious intelligence breach, ex-UK spy tells court
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The former intelligence officer also said: "Two of the named Russian sources have not been seen or heard of since." On the last day of his presidency, Trump declassified Steele's evidence and provided a copy of his testimony to a journalist, Steele said in his statement. "The publication of this document did serious damage to the U.S. government's Russian operations and their ability to recruit new Russian sources," Steele said. Steele also said in his witness statement that he believed Trump was "motivated by a personal vendetta against me and Orbis and a desire for revenge". In his witness statement, Trump said Ivanka was "completely irrelevant to this claim and any mention of her only serves to distract this court from (Orbis') and Mr Steele's reckless behavior".

Persons: Donald Trump, Shannon Stapleton, Steele, Trump, declassification, Donald Trump's, Christopher Steele, president's, Robert Mueller's, Mueller, Ivanka, Mr Steele, Sam Tobin, Emelia Sithole Organizations: U.S, Republican, REUTERS, London's, Trump, Orbis Business Intelligence, FBI, Thomson Locations: West Palm Beach , Florida, U.S, Russia, British

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed LinkedIn logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsOct 16 (Reuters) - Microsoft's (MSFT.O) LinkedIn said on Monday it would lay off 668 employees across its engineering, talent and finance teams in the second round of job cuts this year for the social media network for professionals amid slowing revenue growth. LinkedIn makes money through ad sales and by charging for subscriptions to recruiting and sales professionals who use the network to find suitable job candidates. In the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2023 year, LinkedIn's revenue increased 5% year-on-year, compared to 10% in the previous quarter. LinkedIn in May decided to cut 716 jobs across sales, operations and support teams to streamline its operations and remove layers to help make quicker decisions.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Krystal Hu, Yuvraj Malik, Aditya Soni, Arun Koyyur, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Thomson Locations: New York, Bengaluru

☆ Safe-haven dollar steady near one-week high on Middle East conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The dollar held near a one-week high on Monday with fragile sentiment against a backdrop of conflict in the Middle East supporting demand for the safe-haven currency. "The conflict between Israel and Hamas continues and is providing volatility to the financial markets with the traditional safe-haven flows. There was some respite for the euro and sterling, which were off one-week lows touched on Friday against the dollar. YEN WATCHINGThe yen was flat at 149.54 per dollar, close to the sensitive 150-level. The yen is still perceived as a safe asset along with the Swiss franc and U.S. dollar, Kanda added.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jerome Powell, Jens Peter Sørensen, Benjamin Netanyahu, Poland's zloty, Lukazs Janczak, Christopher Luxon, Masato Kanda, Kanda, James Malcolm, Joice Alves, Rae Wee, Vidya Ranganathan, Kirsten Donovan, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Hamas, Danske Bank, country's, Sterling, Erste Group, National Party, ACT, New Zealand, Swiss, ., UBS, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Israeli, Poland, New, London

The EU is typically one of the most ambitious negotiators at the annual United Nations climate talks, where nearly 200 countries negotiate efforts to fight global warming. A central decision will be whether countries at the COP agree for the first time to phase out fossil fuels. EU countries must agree their negotiating position unanimously, meaning one government can block it. EU countries opposing a full phase-out include poorer nations who fear the impact of weaning their economies off fossil fuels. The brackets around "unabated" indicate EU countries have not yet agreed on the word.

Persons: Rula, EU's, Kate Abnett, Jan Strupczewski, Emelia Organizations: Abu Dhabi Sustainability, REUTERS, Union, EU, United Nations, Reuters, Thomson Locations: UAE, Abu Dhabi, BRUSSELS, United, Dubai, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia

High funding needs and central banks removing support are increasing pricing uncertainty for investors, Sophia Drossos, hedge fund Point72 Asset Management's chief economist, said. Spending plans lacking credibility were seen as most likely to spark market turmoil. I suspect not by default, but when markets start reflecting their worries in Treasury prices, by a political crisis and a potentially ugly adjustment," the former IMF chief economist said. "We need more investment, not less," said King's College London professor Jonathan Portes, Britain's cabinet office chief economist during the financial crisis. Not enough reforms are being implemented, OECD chief economist Clare Lombardelli warned.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Peter Praet, Praet, Sophia Drossos, Daniel Ivascyn, Claudio Borio, Olivier Blanchard, Ray Dalio, Janet Yellen's, Yellen, Jim Leaviss, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Daleep Singh, Joe Biden, Britain's, Yellen's, Jonathan Portes, Clare Lombardelli, Moritz Kraemer, Yoruk Bahceli, Maria Martinez, Leigh Thomas, Giuseppe Fonte, Nell Mackenzie, Naomi Rovnick, William Schomberg, Jan Strupczewski, Dan Burns, Elisa Martinuzzi, Riddhima Talwani, Jayaram, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Financial, of, REUTERS, Institute of International Finance, Reuters, European Central Bank, ECB, Bank for International, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Associates, U.S . Treasury, Wall, Economy, Britain's Treasury, Congressional, Britain's, Institution, Reuters Graphics ACT, King's College London, Labour Party, OECD, Graphics, Thomson Locations: of Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Italy, Britain, United States, Europe, Ukraine, Berlin, Paris, Rome, London, Brussels, Washington, Marrakech

High funding needs and central banks removing support are increasing pricing uncertainty for investors, Sophia Drossos, hedge fund Point72 Asset Management's chief economist, said. Spending plans lacking credibility were seen as most likely to spark market turmoil. I suspect not by default, but when markets start reflecting their worries in Treasury prices, by a political crisis and a potentially ugly adjustment," the former IMF chief economist said. Italy's 2.4 trillion-euro debt pile is the focus in Europe, where the IMF has said high debt leaves governments vulnerable to crisis. "We need more investment, not less," said King's College London professor Jonathan Portes, Britain's cabinet office chief economist during the financial crisis.

☆ Global markets brace for fallout as Middle East tensions rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Matt Tracy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices leapt nearly 6% on Friday, as investors priced in the possibility of a wider Middle East conflict. The first indicator of reaction to weekend developments will likely come when oil starts trading in Asia later on Sunday. Reuters Graphics"I have no clue whether markets will remain relatively well behaved," said Erik Nielsen, group chief economics advisor at UniCredit. The war between the Islamist group Hamas and Israel poses one of the most significant geopolitical risks to oil markets since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Rising oil prices are unlikely to have a significant impact on U.S. gas prices or consumer spending, analysts noted.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Ben Cahill, Erik Nielsen, Bernard Baumohl, Baumohl, it's, Nomura, George Moran, Matt Tracy, Dhara, Megan Davies, Muralikumar, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Energy Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Reuters, U.S, Economic Outlook Group, European Central Bank, Chevron, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Kibbutz Beeri, Israel, Palestinian, Asia, UniCredit, Princeton , New Jersey, United States, Europe, Ukraine, Egypt, Washington, London

☆ IMF sees recent yen falls as reflecting fundamentals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Banknotes of Japanese yen are seen in this illustration picture taken September 23, 2022. "On the yen, our sense is that the exchange rate is driven pretty much by fundamentals. As long as interest rate differentials remain, the yen will continue to face pressure," Sanjaya Panth, deputy director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, told reporters. Authorities in Japan are facing renewed pressure to combat a sustained depreciation in the yen , as investors bet on higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates while the Bank of Japan remains wedded to its super low interest rate policy. "I don't think any of the three considerations are existing right now," he said, when asked whether recent yen falls call for authorities to intervene in the currency market.

Persons: Florence Lo, Panth, Leika Kihara, Emelia Sithole, Mike Harrison Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Monetary Fund, Pacific Department, Authorities, Bank of Japan, IMF, Thomson Locations: Rights MARRAKECH, Morocco, Asia, Japan

☆ Jordan says Palestinian displacement pushes region to 'abyss' of wider conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot Acquire Licensing RightsAMMAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Jordan said on Saturday any move by Israel to impose a new displacement of Palestinians would push the region to the "abyss" of a wider regional conflict. Israel's push to move the entire population to leave their homes was a "red line" that Arabs would confront, Safadi said. "This will bring the region into the hell of war ... we have to end this madness," he added. The war's continuation also threatened to lead to its spread on other fronts, Safadi said, adding that "violence would breed more violence and destruction". Safadi said the king had also emphasised Jordan's refusal to accept the displacement of Palestinians from their land.

Persons: Khan Younis, Ahmed Zakot, Jordan, Ayman Safadi, Israel, Safadi, King Abdullah, Antony Blinken, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Muath Freij, Emelia Sithole, Sharon Singleton, Helen Popper Our Organizations: United Nations, REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Canadian, U.S, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Europe, Amman, East Jerusalem

☆ Important to Avoid Hezbollah's Intervention in Israel-Hamas Conflict - German Chancellor
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed in a phone call on Saturday with Israel's prime minister that it was important to avoid a wider Middle East war as well as Hezbollah's intervention in the Israel-Hamas conflict, a spokesperson for the Chancellery said. "Chancellor Scholz renewed Germany's full solidarity with the people of Israel in these difficult times and emphasized that Germany stands unwaveringly at Israel's side," the spokesperson added in a statement. Baerbock, who arrived on Saturday morning in Cairo for discussion with her Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, said Israel's fight against Hamas must be carried out with consideration for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. "The fight against Hamas must be carried out with the greatest possible consideration for the humanitarian situation ... (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Alexander Ratz; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Mark Potter)

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Chancellor Scholz, Annalena Baerbock, Berlin, Baerbock, Israel's, Riham Alkousaa, Alexander Ratz, Emelia Sithole, Mark Potter Organizations: BERLIN, German, United Nations Locations: Israel, Germany, Gaza, Egypt, Berlin, Cairo

☆ Turkey Says Israel's Call for Gazans to Move South 'Inhumane'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Huseyin Hayatsever and Tuvan GumrukcuANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey said on Friday that Israel's call for Gazans to move south in 24 hours ahead of its planned ground offensive was inhumane and a violation of international law. Speaking at an event in Istanbul, he also urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through Egypt's Rafah crossing. Two A400M Turkish military aircraft with humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza have arrived in Egypt's Al Arish airport, Turkey's defence ministry said on Friday. Footage shared by the defence ministry showed boxes covered with the logo of Turkey's AFAD disaster management authority. The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday that humanitarian organisations would not be able to assist more than a million people in Gaza.

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever, Israel, Tayyip Erdogan, Cross, Jonathan Spicer, Emelia Organizations: Hamas, Turkish, International Committee Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Gaza, Palestinian, Israel, Istanbul, Rafah, Egypt's Al Arish

☆ Novo Nordisk raises full-year guidance again as US sales of Wegovy, Ozempic fly
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Danish drugmaker said it now expects sales growth this year between 32% and 38%, from a previous forecast of 27%-33%. It raised its full-year outlook for growth in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to 40-46% from the previous 31-37% range. Novo became Europe's most valuable company this year on soaring demand for weekly injection Wegovy and its lower-dose version Ozempic. The new sales outlook for this year primarily reflects higher expectations for profits related to sales of Ozempic and Wegovy in the United States. Operating profit grew 37% between January and September, with 47% growth in the third quarter.

Persons: Victoria Klesty, Danish drugmaker, Jeffries, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Maggie Fick, Terje Solsvik, Susan Fenton, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Novo Nordisk, COPENHAGEN, Analysts, Barclays, Novo, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, Victoria, United States, Danish, Wegovy, The Copenhagen, London

☆ Dollar gains after US consumer prices rise more than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The dollar rose sharply on Thursday after U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in September, lifted by an elevated cost of rent that raised the prospect of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates high for some time. The consumer price index increased 0.4% last month, with a 0.6% jump in the cost of shelter accounting for more than half of the rise. The dollar rose more than 1% against sterling, and the Australian and New Zealand dollars. Owners' equivalent rent, a measure of the amount homeowners would pay to rent or would earn from renting their property, rose even though non-official sources show a decline in rental prices. Thursday's CPI release came after Wednesday's mixed report on U.S. producer prices, and minutes from the Fed's September meeting.

Persons: Douglas Porter, Bipan Rai, Thierry Wizman, Wizman, BoE, Wednesday's, Herbert Lash, Alun John, Ankur Banerjee, Emelia Sithole, Mark Potter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Federal Reserve, Labor, BMO Capital Markets, Reuters, New, CIBC Capital Markets, Fed, Bank of England, CPI, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Oakville, Canada, New Zealand, North America, Toronto, New York, London, Bengaluru, Singapore

☆ Israel raises $200 mln in bonds, debt insurance costs surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Nir Elias/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Israel has raised $200 million from diaspora bond sales since the war with Hamas began, Israel Bonds said in a statement. The group, the government's vehicle for diaspora bonds, said that U.S. state and local governments accounted for $150 million of the purchases. "The response across many U.S. states was immediate and demand exceeded the amount of Israel bonds that we were able to sell at that time," Dani Naveh, president at Israel Bonds, said in a statement. Israel Bonds said it had nearly reached its standard annual goal to raise $1 billion before the war began. As of Dec. 31, it had $5.4 billion worth of outstanding bonds, representing approximately 12% of Israel's external governmental debt.

Persons: Nir Elias, Israel Bonds, Dani Naveh, Libby George, Karin Strohecker, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Israel, Palestinian, P Global Market Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Israel, U.S

☆ Czech Republic, Denmark to supply tanks, fighting vehicles to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRAGUE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic and Denmark will jointly supply heavy military equipment to Ukraine in the coming months, the Czech Defence Ministry said on Thursday. The Czech ministry detailed on Thursday that the first shipment would include nearly 50 infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks, 2,500 hand guns, 7,000 rifles, 500 light machine guns, 500 sniper rifles and equipment for electronic warfare and intelligence. The ministry said last month the first shipment would include 15 modernised T-72EA main battle tanks. Further shipments will include 500 heavy machine guns, 280 recoilless guns, 7,000 anti-tank weapons, 10,000 hand grenades, 60 mortars, and a large number of anti-drone systems. The ministry said last month about half of an expected 90 tanks under that agreement have already been delivered.

Persons: Jan Lopatka, Michael Kahn, Emelia Organizations: Czech Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ukraine, Czech, Netherlands, United States

The trial for the Cantlay/Harper case, which was set to begin on Nov. 13, will now be dismissed, GSK said, adding it had also settled three remaining breast cancer cases in California related to the same drug. The latest settlements in California were related to cases due to go to trial in November, with a further set scheduled to begin in Delaware courts in January, GSK said. The company still faces about 79,000 cases related to Zantac in the United States, with 73,000 of them in Delaware. GSK did not admit any liability and said it would vigorously defend itself in any other Zantac cases. In June, GSK agreed to settle a similar lawsuit in California.

Persons: Harper, Brendan McDermid, Morgan, Jeffries, Zantac, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eva Mathews, Maggie Fick, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Bernadette Baum, Louise Heavens, Emelia Organizations: pare, Citi, GSK, Reuters, REUTERS, Barclays, Pfizer, Sanofi, FDA, Thomson Locations: California, British, Delaware, United States, Arexvy, California . California, Bengaluru, London

☆ Analysis: Use of weather derivatives surges as extreme climate events rock the globe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Harry Robertson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Weather derivatives were born in the late 1990s. Climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon combined to make the northern hemisphere summer of 2023 the hottest ever recorded, according to the European Union Climate Change Service. Weather derivatives let buyers hedge against the risk that the weather will damage their business. Average open interest in CME weather futures and options contracts in September was around 170,000 contracts, compared to roughly 10 times that for crude oil - although market participants reckon 90% of the weather derivatives market is in over-the-counter deals. "Extreme weather events tend to make good marketing for weather futures," said Samuel Randalls, a professor at University College London who focuses on weather and climate.

Persons: Andrew ., Ken Griffin's, Peter Keavey, Griffin's Citadel, Nick Ernst, Ernst, Matthew Hunt, Samuel Randalls, David Whitehead, Whitehead, UCL's Randalls, BGC's Ernst, Martin Malinow, Harry Robertson, Emelia Sithole Organizations: NYPD, REUTERS, Energy, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Enron, CME Group, El, Change, Graphics, University College London, Citadel, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Williamsburg, New York City, U.S, Paris, New York, Ukraine

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