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☆ Blue Shield California drops CVS; picks Amazon, others to lower drug price
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CVS Health logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. Non-profit health plan provider Blue Shield, which has 4.8 million members, said it will work with partners including Amazon.com and Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company to provide at-home delivery and access to low-cost medications. Privately held Abarca will pay prescription drug claims, while Prime Therapeutics will work with Blue Shield to negotiate savings with drugmakers, the company said. Blue Shield will also work with CVS Caremark for specialty pharmacy services. The loss of Blue Shield marks another blow to Caremark, which is also set to lose the contract to manage Centene's (CNC.N) $40 billion annual pharmacy needs from next year.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Cuban's, Privately, Manas Mishra, Mariam Sunny, Bhanvi, Shweta Agarwal, Pooja Desai Organizations: CVS, REUTERS, Wall Street Journal, Cigna, UnitedHealth, Company, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Fisker to add Tesla's EV charging connector by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Fisker Automotive is pictured on a car at the 2022 Paris Auto Show in Paris, France, October 18, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane MaheAug 15 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle startup Fisker (FSR.N) said on Tuesday it signed a deal with Tesla (TSLA.O) to adopt its North American Charging Standard (NACS), giving Fisker customers access to the automaker's Supercharger network by 2025. A plethora of automakers, including Ford Motor (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N), are moving away from the standard Combined Charging System (CCS) connector to Tesla's previously proprietary charging design, which is set to dominate the industry. Fisker said its vehicles made 2025 onwards will have the NACS port for charging, while other customers can use an adapter to access Tesla's 12,000-strong network of public fast chargers in the U.S. and Canada. Tesla's recent deals represent major strides in displacing a rival standard, CCS, that earlier exclusively had the backing of President Joe Biden's administration.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Fisker, Joe Biden's, Akash Sriram, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Fisker, REUTERS, Tesla, Ford, General Motors, CCS, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, Canada, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Bankrupt Lordstown Motors reaches $40 million settlement with Karma Automotive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lordstown Motors and Foxconn logo is seen in this illustration taken, May 2, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoAug 15 (Reuters) - Lordstown Motors said on Tuesday it had reached a $40-million settlement with Karma Automotive over a 2020 lawsuit in which the now-bankrupt electric vehicle firm was accused of stealing proprietary technology. The settlement, placed with the bankruptcy court for approval, involves $5 million to be paid as royalty for the use of Karma's intellectual property, which Lordstown was accused of having misappropriated. That case was scheduled for trial in September before being placed on hold by Lordstown's bankruptcy. In case the settlement is not approved and the case goes to trial, Lordstown will continue to defend against Karma's claims, the filing added.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Lordstown, Karma, Taiwan's Foxconn, Karma's, Yuvraj Malik, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Lordstown Motors, REUTERS, Karma Automotive, Thomson Locations: . California, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon scraps several private label clothing brands - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) is shelving several private clothing brands, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, as the e-commerce giant tries to cut costs and address antitrust scrutiny. The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said the company has decided to eliminate 27 of its 30 in house-label clothing brands, leaving it with just Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection and Amazon Aware. "If there are products that aren't resonating with customers we deprecate those items and look for other opportunities to better meet their needs," Matt Taddy, vice president of Amazon Private Brands, said in an email to Reuters. Other critics have said Amazon abused its gatekeeper power by refusing to allow big rivals to advertise against its products on the Amazon platform and used below-cost prices on goods and services to keep customers, including on Prime.

Persons: Pascal, Matt Taddy, Trump, Zaheer Kachwala, Shweta Agarwal, Arun Koyyur Organizations: REUTERS, Wall Street, Amazon Private Brands, Reuters, The, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon scraps private label brands to cut costs, address antitrust scrutiny - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) is shelving several private clothing brands in an attempt to reduce costs and address antitrust scrutiny, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Amazon also is scrapping private-label furniture, phasing out its Rivet and Stone & Beam brands once their stock runs out, the report said. "If there are products that aren't resonating with customers we deprecate those items and look for other opportunities to better meet their needs," Matt Taddy, Vice President of Amazon Private Brands, said in an email to Reuters. The FTC began probing Amazon during the Trump administration when the government decided to investigate several big tech companies for allegedly breaking antitrust law.

Persons: Pascal, Matt Taddy, Trump, Zaheer Kachwala, Shweta Agarwal, Arun Koyyur Organizations: REUTERS, Wall Street, Beam, Amazon Private Brands, Reuters, The, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Bengaluru

☆ China's Country Garden flags H1 net loss, vows to address liquidity concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. For the first half ended June 30, the company estimates its net loss between 45 billion yuan ($6.24 billion) and 55 billion yuan, it said in its preliminary report. This compares with a net profit of 1.91 billion yuan a year earlier. It achieved attributable sales of 140.8 billion yuan from January to July 2023, down 35% from a year ago. ($1 = 7.2068 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly Song, Yang Huiyan, Roushni Nair, Shweta Agarwal, Shailesh Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, HK, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Bengaluru

☆ Charles River says NHP supply snarls to no longer persist near-term
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 9 (Reuters) - Charles River Laboratories International (CRL.N) beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter results on Wednesday, as the strong demand for contract researcher's tools and services cushioned the impact of suspended non-human primates' (NHP) shipment. The statement comes after Charles River in February suspended the shipment of NHPs from Cambodia as the Department of Justice and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the company over smuggling of wild long-tailed macaques to the United States. The Massachusetts-based company tightened its full-year profit forecast to the range of $10.30 to $10.90 per share, compared with $9.90 to $10.90 previously expected. Excluding items, the company earned $2.69 per share in the quarter ended July 1, beating analysts' average estimate of $2.64 per share.

Persons: Charles River, Charles River's, Vaibhav Sadhamta, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: River Laboratories, Department of Justice, Fish, Wildlife Service, Thomson Locations: United States, NHPs, Cambodia, The Massachusetts

☆ Campbell to buy Rao's premium sauces maker Sovos for $2.33 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoAug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. packaged food maker Campbell Soup (CPB.N) will buy Michael Angelo's and Rao's owner Sovos Brands (SOVO.O) for $2.33 billion in cash, the company said on Monday, beefing up its meals and beverages business with the maker of premium Italian sauces. Campbell will pay $23 per share for Sovos, a nearly 28% premium to the stock's last close. Sovos' shares were trading at $22.48 while Campbell slipped 1.2% to $44.58 in early trade. Last month, Unilever (ULVR.L) said it would buy frozen yogurt brand Yasso in North America while Mars Inc agreed to buy Kevin's Natural Foods. In May, Campbell Soup sold Emerald Nuts to Flagstone Foods for an undisclosed amount.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Campbell, Michael Angelo's, beefing, Sovos, Campbell Soup, Arun Sundaram, Savyata Mishra, Savio D'Souza, Shweta Agarwal, Sriraj Organizations: REUTERS, Sovos Brands, Unilever, Mars Inc, Flagstone Foods, CFRA, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, North America, Canada, Bengaluru

☆ Morgan Stanley warns of hit to equity valuation if US fiscal spending is cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A sign is displayed on the Morgan Stanley building in New York U.S., July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File PhotoAug 7 (Reuters) - Brokerage Morgan Stanley on Monday warned that lofty U.S. equity valuations could be questioned by investors if aggressive fiscal spending is curtailed after the downgrade of sovereign debt by ratings agency Fitch last week. While aggressive fiscal spending could continue, given the debt ceiling has been raised, fiscal policy has limits as deficits would widen - one of the reasons for Fitch's downgrade. "Investors will to call into question equity valuations, which were already high before the recent rise in yields," Wilson said in a weekend note. "If fiscal spending must be curtailed due to higher political or funding costs, the unfinished earnings decline that began last year is more likely to resume."

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Lucas Jackson, Fitch, Michael J Wilson, chalking, Wilson, Susan Mathew, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: New York U.S, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ SiriusXM tops quarterly revenue estimates on strong radio demand from auto tie-ups
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 1 (Reuters) - SiriusXM (SIRI.O) topped market estimates for quarterly revenue on Tuesday as the radio company's tie-ups with automakers helped draw users to its audio product services while on the road. The company also partnered with Volvo (VOLCARb.ST) in the quarter to continue to be the standard across the automaker's vehicle lineup. The audio entertainment company reported second-quarter revenue of $2.25 billion, beating estimates of $2.24 billion, according to Refinitiv data. After reporting better-than-expected free cash flow of $323 million in the quarter, the company also raised its expectation for the full year. It now expects annual free cash flow to be around $1.5 billion, compared with $1.1 billion it had previously expected.

Persons: SiriusXM, Samrhitha, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Volvo, Spotify, YouTube, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Dell expands 'Project Helix' with Nvidia to provide generative AI solutions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The Dell logo is seen on an item for sale in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew KellyJuly 31 (Reuters) - Dell Technologies (DELL.N) on Monday launched new generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) solutions in collaboration with Nvidia (NVDA.O) whose chips enable the technology behind OpenAI's ChatGPT. The tools will help businesses to build GenAI models and are an expansion of Dell's Project Helix, which was launched in May. Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta AgarwalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, OpenAI's, Jaspreet Singh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Dell Technologies, Monday, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Bengaluru

Yet a sharp drawdown in the excess savings created by COVID-19 could be a curve ball that slams into bullish sentiment. U.S. excess savings have fallen to around $500 billion from around $2.1 trillion in August 2021, the San Francisco Federal Reserve estimates. In Europe, Deutsche Bank reckons excess savings in Sweden, struggling to contain a property slump, have dwindled. Reuters GraphicsRUNNING OUTDefinitions for excess savings differ, but economists generally agree that this means savings that went beyond trend levels during the pandemic. Cardano chief economist Shweta Singh said U.S. pandemic excess savings are likely to be depleted by year-end.

Persons: Rachel Adams, Janus Henderson, Oliver Blackbourn, Shweta Singh, Guy Miller, Jamie Dimon, Ben, Eren Osman, Arbuthnot Latham, Janus Henderson's Blackbourn, U.S . Russell, Russell, Goldman Sachs, Blackbourn, Zurich's Miller, Simon Bell, Guilluame Paillat, Paillat, Naomi Rovnick, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Oxford, REUTERS, San Francisco Federal, Deutsche Bank, Reuters, Insurance Group, Ryanair, JPMorgan, Unilever, U.S ., London's, Bank of, Aviva, Thomson Locations: Britain, London, China, Europe, U.S, Sweden, United States, downturns, Australia

☆ S&P Global misses profit estimates as Commodity Insights, Indices units struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

On an adjusted basis, its profit of $3.12 per share missed analysts' average estimate of $3.14 per share, as per Refinitiv IBES data. Growth in revenues from the company's Commodity Insights and Indices segments could not meet Street expectations. S&P's Market Intelligence segment posted a 5% rise in sales, taking the firm's total revenue up 4% to $3.1 billion in the quarter through June. S&P Global, which provides essential market intelligence to governments, corporates and institutional investors, completed the divestiture of its Engineering Solutions unit to global investment firm KKR Inc (KKR.N) in May. Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta AgarwalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jaiveer Singh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Intelligence, P Global Inc, P's, P, Solutions, KKR Inc, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Allegion raises profit forecast on price hikes, strong demand for security systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Allegion (ALLE.N) raised its annual profit forecast on Wednesday after price increases and solid demand for its electric security devices helped it beat quarterly earnings estimates. "We expect end markets will be stable with continued strong demand for our electronic solutions," CEO John Stone said. Still, the weakness in the residential business prompted the company to lower the top end of its full-year revenue forecast. It now expects full-year organic revenue growth of 5.5% to 6.5%, compared with a prior forecast range of 5.5% to 7.5%. That compared with analysts' estimates for revenue of $934.7 million on profit of $1.71, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Persons: John Stone, Allegion, Akshita Toshniwal, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Access Technologies, Thomson

That special fee, which the FDIC proposed in May, would be assessed based on their uninsured deposits at the end of 2022. The regulator said some banks were "not reporting estimated uninsured deposits in accordance with the instructions." A July 6 report by S&P Global noted 55 banks restated their fourth-quarter uninsured deposits in FDIC reports, more than twice the norm. Specifically, the FDIC reminded banks they must report uninsured deposits backed by pledged assets as well as uninsured deposits held at their own subsidiaries. “Earlier this year, we identified certain internal or intra-bank accounts that shouldn’t have been reported,” Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin said.

Persons: Zions, Paul Burdiss, Bill Halldin, Bank spokespeople, Niket, Pete Schroeder, Tatiana Bauzer, Shweta Agarwal, Megan Davies Organizations: U.S, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Valley Bank, FDIC, P Global, Bank of America, ” Bank of America, P, Huntington National Bank, Bank, Bank Policy Institute, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Washington

☆ Lyft considers options for bikes business after getting 'strong interest'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 24 (Reuters) - Lyft (LYFT.O) said on Monday it was exploring options for its bikes and scooters business, the latest move by the company that has fallen behind rival Uber (UBER.N) in the North American ride-sharing market. The company said it has received "strong inbound interest" for the business that operates across 15 countries. Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta AgarwalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Uber, Zaheer Kachwala, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Trump-linked SPAC surges as fraud settlement lifts hopes for deal completion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"It was weighing on shares and this gives investors hope that a deal could be completed," said Dennis Dick, a trader and equity market structure analyst at Triple D Trading. If the deal consummates, TMTG will have more than $1 billion of cash in its reach from the SPAC's institutional investors. Earlier, the SPAC had extended the deadline to acquire TMTG by three months to Sept. 8 and named interim boss Eric Swider as its chief executive officer. Trump founded Truth Social months after he was permanently suspended on Twitter and Meta Platforms' (META.O) Facebook and has since amassed more than 5.5 million followers on his conservative social media platform. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta AgarwalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Donald Trump's, Dennis Dick, TMTG, DWAC, Eric Swider, Trump, Akash Sriram, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: U.S, Trump Media & Technology, Triple D, SEC, Truth, Twitter, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Huntington Bancshares beats Q2 profit estimates on interest income strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 21 (Reuters) - Huntington Bancshares (HBAN.O) beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Friday, as it earned more from rising interest rates and saw strong demand for its commercial loans. "There is increasing optimism around a very modest slowdown, (or) recession," the bank's CEO Stephen Steinour said, citing stimulus spending from the government. "The interest rate outlook has continued to change," said Steinour, adding there are expectations that rates will remain higher for a longer period. Huntington earned $0.35 per share in the second quarter versus analysts' average estimate of $0.34 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Total deposits at Huntington were $148 billion, up nearly 2% from the first quarter.

Persons: Huntington, Stephen Steinour, NII, Niket, Saeed Azhar, Shweta Agarwal, Deepa Babington Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Comerica, Fifth Third Bancorp, Thomson Locations: U.S, Columbus , Ohio, Huntington, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Bank stocks volatile on mixed results, Discover sinks amid regulatory review
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 20 (Reuters) - Bank stocks were volatile in premarket trading on Thursday as lenders reported mixed quarterly results, while shares of Discover Financial Services (DFS.N) tanked after it disclosed a regulatory review over some of its credit products. Meanwhile, two major mid-sized banks missed quarterly profit estimates, while one came ahead of Wall Street expectations on Thursday. KeyCorp (KEY.N) shares dropped 2.7% after the bank's profit plunged 50% and it forecast a decline in net interest income. They fell 5.7% in the second quarter compared with a year earlier. Outperforming peers, Fifth Third Bancorp's (FITB.O) shares rose 1.9% premarket as the bank's quarterly profit topped expectations, even as it trimmed its growth forecast for full-year NII.

Persons: Zions, Manya Saini, Jaiveer Shekhawat, Sri Hari, Shweta Agarwal, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Bank, Discover Financial Services, Discover, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Truist, Major, Thomson Locations: Truist, Major U.S, Bengaluru

☆ KeyCorp second-quarter profit halves on higher loan loss provisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 20 (Reuters) - KeyCorp (KEY.N) reported on Thursday a bigger-than-expected 50% fall in quarterly profit, as it set aside more rainy day funds amid growing economic uncertainties. Shares of the company fell nearly 3% in premarket trading. The lender's provisions for credit losses jumped by 271% to $167 million at the quarter end, compared with $45 million in a year-ago quarter. Banks have started to raise their provisions for loan losses as high borrowing costs threaten to cripple the banking sector from the risk of defaults. The company's net interest income fell nearly 11% to $986 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared with $1.1 billion, a year earlier.

Persons: Banks, Jaiveer Singh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Carvana enters deal to cut debt by $1.2 bln, shares surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Apollo is pleased to support this debt exchange agreement, which stands to significantly strengthen Carvana's financial position while providing creditors with new first lien debt," John Zito, Apollo's Deputy CIO of credit, said in a statement. But the company has been struggling to sell cars acquired at elevated prices as buyers hit by inflation and worried about a recession cut spending. Carvana's shares have lost 87% of its value in the past two years. The company also posted a core profit of $155 million, compared to a loss of $216 million in the year-ago quarter. Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: John Zito, Carvana's, Nathan Gomes, Shweta Agarwal, Sriraj Organizations: Bloomberg News, Apollo Global Management, Pacific Investment Management, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Etsy made 2 massive acquisitions at peak tech valuations. Two years and a $1 billion write-off later, it has buyer's remorse as it sells Elo7.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Etsy bought Elo7 and Depop at a time when tech valuations were sky-high. Etsy disclosed that it had sold Elo7, the Brazilian online marketplace it acquired in July 2021 for $217 million, to fellow Brazilian online marketplace Enjoei for an undisclosed amount. What's next for Etsy's portfolio of brandsFollowing the sale of Elo7, Etsy's portfolio will include its main marketplace, Depop, and Reverb, an online marketplace for musical instruments. But like Elo7, Depop has had some challenges with growth once the pandemic-related e-commerce boom ended, and it is also not profitable. "They're running Depop very similarly to how they run the Etsy marketplace platform," Khajuria said.

Persons: Etsy, Josh Silverman, Elo7, they've, Bernstein, Nikhil Devnani, Shopify, Devnani, What's, Depop, Kruti Patel Goyal, Khajuria Organizations: Evercore ISI, SEC, Elo7, Analysts Locations: Brazil, Latin America, Europe

☆ Marriott enters licensing deal with MGM to boost presence in Las Vegas strip
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Doyinsola Oladipo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Logo of Marriott hotel is seen in Vienna, Austria April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo/File PhotoJuly 17 (Reuters) - Marriott International (MAR.O) said on Monday it entered a 20-year licensing agreement that will allow its loyalty members to earn and redeem existing points for booking stays at MGM Resorts International's (MGM.N) properties. The pair launched "MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy," which will allow members of the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program to earn and redeem points for stays at 17 MGM resorts across the United States and Canada. MGM's 40 million members will gain access to the Bonvoy loyalty program. Marriott will earn fees on total room revenue on the MGM Resorts that are part of the agreement, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said.

Persons: Heinz, Peter Bader, Marriott, Kate Xiao, Bill Hornbuckle, Bernstein's Xiao, Anthony Capuano, Barry Jonas, Aishwarya Nair, Shweta Agarwal, Will Dunham Organizations: REUTERS, Marriott, MGM Resorts, MGM, Cosmopolitan, Bernstein Hotels, Reuters, Truist Securities, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, United States, Canada, Las Vegas, Marriott's, Bengaluru, Doyinsola, New York

☆ NextDecade shares fall 23% as LNG project funding disappoints investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies NextDecade Corp FollowJuly 13 (Reuters) - NextDecade Corp shares (NEXT.O) fell 23% on Thursday on investor worries over the terms of $18.4 billion financing the U.S. liquefied natural gas developer obtained to go ahead with the long-delayed Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG export facility. NextDecade said its financial partners and TotalEnergies combined will hold stake that could fetch them at least 79.2% of the cash flow generated from Phase 1 of the project. It also said the lump-sum turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contracts of $12 billion were lower than its forecast of $12.5 billion. "Investors are looking at the huge portion of cash flow that the new project level investors get relative to the equity holders and don't love that," said Sean Morgan, an analyst at Evercore. NextDecade is expected to produce 27 million tonnes of LNG a year from the facility.

Persons: NextDecade, TotalEnergies, TD Cowen, Sean Morgan, Arshreet Singh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: NextDecade, NextDecade Corp, Evercore, Thomson Locations: Rio Grande LNG, United States

☆ Salesforce to raise prices of some cloud products from August
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 11 (Reuters) - Salesforce (CRM.N) will raise prices for some of its cloud and marketing tools by an average 9% from August, the maker of software for customer relations management said, sending its shares up nearly 4% in early trading on Tuesday. Its first price hike in seven years comes at a time when Salesforce and several other technology companies are increasing their spending to include generative artificial intelligence (AI) to their products and services. The price hike also comes as revenues from cloud services that grew at a scorching pace during the pandemic lockdown have started to slow. Growth at big cloud players such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) has come under pressure as enterprise clients look to optimize their cloud spending amid rising cost of borrowing. The new prices for Tableau, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud and Industries will cover new and existing customers, Salesforce said.

Persons: Salesforce, Akash Sriram, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Microsoft, Marketing Cloud, Industries, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

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