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☆ Moscow court upholds Rosbank's $12 mln damages claim against Citi
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo for Citibank is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 26 (Reuters) - A Moscow court has upheld a claim by Rosbank (ROSB.MM) to recover damages worth 94.47 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.08 million) from U.S. lender Citi (C.N) and its affiliate in Hong Kong, Russian court documents showed on Thursday. Rosbank first asked the court for damages in July, requesting interim asset seizures, concerned that Citi's efforts to fully extricate itself from Russia may reduce its assets there before a decision was reached. The court did not grant interim measures then, but in filings dated Oct. 26, it said: "The claim was satisfied in full." ($1 = 7.8210 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; writing by Alexander Marrow; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Rosbank, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Jason Neely Organizations: Citibank, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Hong Kong, Citi, Rosbank, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Moscow, Hong Kong, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Springbok hooker Mbonambi cleared to play in World Cup final
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

World Rugby were subsequently asked to review a similar incident in a match between the two teams in London last year. "Any allegation of discrimination is taken extremely seriously by World Rugby...," it said in a statement. World Rugby added that it accepted that Curry made the allegation in good faith, "and that there is no suggestion that the allegation was deliberately false or malicious." "World Rugby is also concerned by the social media abuse that both players have been subjected to this week. There is no place in rugby or society for discrimination, abuse or hate speech, and World Rugby urges fans to embrace the sport’s values of respect, integrity and solidarity."

Persons: Rassie Erasmus, Lorraine O'sullivan, Bongi Mbonambi, Tom Curry, Mbonambi, Curry, Tom Curry’s, Siya Kolisi, Kolisi, Nick Said, Jason Neely, John Stonestreet Organizations: Aviva, REUTERS, Rights, Saturday’s Rugby, Rugby, England, Springbok, New Zealand, South Africa, World Rugby, Rugby Football Union, RFU, Springboks, Twickenham, Thomson Locations: Africa, Ireland, South Africa, Dublin, New, Paris, London, Mbonambi

☆ EU's Breton confirms investigations into three tech platforms, including X
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] 'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - EU industry chief Thierry Breton has launched investigations into three tech platforms over content moderation decisions, including Elon Musk's X. The tech giants have faced mounting scrutiny in recent weeks, with a surge in harmful content and disinformation following Hamas' attack on Israel. Under the bloc's wide-sweeping Digital Services Act, very large tech platforms and search engines must do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security, and to protect their services against manipulative techniques. Speaking during a radio interview with France Inter, Breton did not specify the other two platforms being investigated.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Thierry Breton, Elon Musk's, Breton, Martin Coulter, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Services, France Inter, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Israel

☆ Unilever's new CEO lays out plans to simplify business, shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Klondike, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Unilever's (ULVR.L) new chief executive Hein Schumacher on Thursday laid out long-awaited plans to simplify the business after admitting it had underperformed in recent years, but shares fell as some investors were unimpressed. Unilever reported a 5.2% rise in underlying sales, meeting analysts' average forecast, a company-provided consensus showed. Underlying price growth for the third quarter was 5.8% while underlying volumes were down 0.6%. The company also announced a senior executive shake-up, naming Fernando Fernandez, currently president of the beauty and wellbeing business, as its new chief financial officer.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Hein Schumacher, Schumacher, Richard Saldanha, Alan Jope, Nelson Peltz, we've, Graeme Pitkethly, Fernando Fernandez, Richa Naidu, Mark Potter, Jason Neely Organizations: Unilever, REUTERS, Aviva, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Europe

☆ WPP slashes outlook again as China slowdown adds to tech woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Branding signage for WPP, the largest global advertising and public relations agency at their offices in London, Britain, July 17, 2019. "But I do think in the long run that will correct itself and those companies will become drivers of growth." Read said it was also a tougher quarter in China, where consumer spending had not returned as expected. Analysts at Citi said it was striking that the step down was "not necessarily caused by an intensification of the pressures in the second quarter but by a broadening of pressure". WPP said this month it would merge Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R to create the industry's largest creative agency.

Persons: Toby Melville, Mark Read, Read, Wunderman Thompson, Paul Sandle, William James, Jason Neely Organizations: WPP, REUTERS, Tech, Technology, Citi, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, China, GroupM, United States

☆ UBS to cut Credit Suisse investment bank staff in Spanish overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Logos of Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS are seen before a news conference in Zurich Switzerland, August 30, 2023. Some 147 jobs from among the 350 people employed by Credit Suisse in Spain will be cut, UBS (UBSG.S) said on Wednesday, with the large majority going from its investment bank. The remainder of the Credit Suisse investment bank staff in Spain will move over to UBS in the coming months, it added. A small number of jobs will also go in the wealth management business, UBS said, although it did not give a full breakdown. UBS said it remained committed to wealth management, investment banking and asset management in Spain.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, John Revill, Jason Neely, Alexander Smith Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Zurich Switzerland, Spain, Swiss, we're

[1/2] People are silhouetted next to the Deutsche Bank's logo prior to the bank's annual meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Shares up 7%Investment bank revenue declinesRevenue at retail and corporate divisions riseSlightly more optimistic on 2023 revenueForecasts buybacks in 2024, flags greater capital returnFRANKFURT, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) on Wednesday promised more share buybacks next year and said it may return more capital to shareholders than it had previously envisaged, causing its shares to surge. Revenue from investment banking slumped but grew in the lender's retail and corporate divisions on higher interest rates. Deutsche Bank shares were up 7% in morning Frankfurt trade as analysts cited positive news on potential buybacks and dividends. Though earnings dropped, Deutsche recorded its 13th consecutive profitable quarter, a notable streak after years of hefty losses.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Deutsche, James von Moltke, Mediobanca, Sewing, JPMorgan's, Tom Sims, Frank Siebelt, Jamie Freed, Jason Neely Organizations: Deutsche, REUTERS, Deutsche Bank, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Investment, Revenue, Goldman, Barclays, RBC, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, FRANKFURT

SummaryCompanies Shell to cut 200 jobs, or 15%, of low-carbon solutions unitA further 130 jobs under reviewShell scraps hydrogen light mobility unitLONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) will cut around 15% of the workforce at its low-carbon solutions division and scale back its hydrogen business as part of CEO Wael Sawan's drive to boost profits, it said on Wednesday. Shell plans to sharply scale back its hydrogen light mobility operations, which develop technologies for light passenger vehicles, the company said. It will also merge two of four general manager roles in the hydrogen business, Shell said. The retreat from the light mobility sector follows the departure of the business's manager Oliver Bishop several months ago. Bishop today leads rival BP's (BP.L) global hydrogen mobility business.

Persons: Wael Sawan's, Sawan, Shell, Oliver Bishop, BP's, London . Sawan, Ron Bousso, Jason Neely, Jan Harvey Organizations: Shell, Reuters, Solutions, Sawan, Energy Intelligence, BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Thomson Locations: Shell, Britain, Netherlands, Europe's, Louisiana, London ., U.S

The company's third-quarter sales volumes were also up against a tough comparative period from last year, when the recall of a rival U.S.-based company's infant formula boosted sales of Reckitt's Enfamil products there. Reckitt said quarterly like-for-like net sales rose 3.4%, behind the 3.7% growth analysts had expected in a company-supplied poll. Rival consumer products makers who have raised prices over the past two years have said in recent weeks that sales volumes could soon see improvements. The price/mix for Reckitt's products, which include Nurofen tablets and Durex condoms, rose 7.5%. Volumes declined 4.1% compared with last year.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Reckitt, Kris Licht, Bernstein, Bruno Monteyne, Richa Naidu, Jason Neely, David Evans, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Benckiser, REUTERS, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S

☆ Crypto firms failing to spell out risks, says UK watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen for the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), the UK's financial regulatory body, at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Wednesday that firms marketing cryptoassets are failing to highlight risks properly to consumers, such as by publishing warnings that are too hard to read. "We expect authorised firms approving the financial promotions of cryptoasset firms to take their regulatory obligations seriously," the FCA said in a statement. "Where this is not happening, we will take action and have already placed restrictions on an authorised firm to restrict it from approving cryptoasset financial promotions." The FCA said on Oct. 10 it was stopping peer-to-peer platform rebuildingsociety.com from approving financial promotions for Binance and other cryptoasset firms.

Persons: Toby Melville, cryptoassets, Huw Jones, David Evans, Jason Neely Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

Britain's biggest mortgage lender on Wednesday reported a pre-tax profit of 1.9 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) for the three months to September 30, in line with the 1.8 billion expected by analysts in forecasts compiled by the bank. The bank's quarterly profit was up on 576 million pounds the prior year, which was restated due to accounting changes. Analysts welcomed the steady set of results, noting a bad loan charge of just 187 million pounds - versus 668 million in the same quarter a year earlier - was much lower than expected. However, Lloyds said it increased its deposits by 500 million pounds during the third quarter, reversing a trend of outflows seen by many banks this year. Deposits remained down 5 billion pounds year to date at 470 billion pounds.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Zoe Gillespie, Banks, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Jason Neely Organizations: Lloyds Bank, REUTERS, Lloyds Banking Group, savers, Lloyds, Barclays, RBC Brewin, Thomson

☆ Arcelik's European deal with Whirlpool gets EU approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Employees stand at the Whirlpool company plant in the northern city of Amiens, France, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Arcelik AS FollowWhirlpool Corp FollowGDANSK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have cleared Turkish domestic appliances maker Arcelik's (ARCLK.IS) proposed purchase of Whirlpool's (WHR.N) European domestic appliances business, an European Commission filing showed on Tuesday. "The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns given in particular the presence of alternative suppliers in the European Economic Area countries where both parties are active," the European Commission said in a statement. Under the deal announced in January, the companies will set up a new entity made up of Arcelik's European units producing major and small domestic appliances as well as consumer electronics with Whirlpool's European business. Britain's antitrust regulator said on Oct. 11 it had decided to refer the deal for an in-depth investigation.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Arcelik, Blomberg, Canan, Daren Butler, Jason Neely Organizations: Whirlpool, REUTERS, Commission, Economic, European Commission, Markets Authority, Zenith, Thomson Locations: Amiens, France, GDANSK, Arctic, Altus, Grundig

GE shares were up 6% at $113.14 in pre-market hours. The Boston-based group now expects 2023 adjusted profit per share of $2.55 to $2.65, compared with an earlier forecast of $2.10 to $2.30. "At GE Aerospace, we continue to experience rapid growth driven by robust demand and solid execution, largely in commercial engines and services," CEO Larry Culp said in a statement. GE's aerospace unit, which makes engines for Boeing Co (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA) jets, posted double-digit growth in orders, revenue and profit from a year earlier. Shares of its aerospace unit will continue GE's listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GE", the company said.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Larry Culp, RTX, Pratt, Whitney, Culp, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sriraj Kalluvila, Jason Neely, Jan Harvey Organizations: Electric, GE, Boeing, Paris, REUTERS, General, GE Aerospace, Boeing Co, Airbus, New York Stock Exchange, AerCap Holdings, Thomson Locations: Le Bourget, Paris, France, Boston, Chicago, Bengaluru

☆ Saudi mega-city NEOM sets up $10 bln JV with Denmark's DSV
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

General view of NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia, January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's $500 billion flagship project NEOM on Tuesday set up a $10 billion joint venture (JV) with Denmark's DSV (DSV.CO), the world's third-largest freight forwarder, they said in a joint statement. "The partnership will focus on providing logistics services for NEOM in the coming years," the statement said, adding NEOM will hold 51% of the joint venture and DSV 49%. "The joint venture will provide end-to-end supply chain management, development and investments in transport and logistics assets and infrastructure as well as transport and delivery of goods and materials within NEOM," the companies said. The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is the cornerstone investor in NEOM, a 26,500-square-km (10,230-square-mile) high-tech development on the Red Sea.

Persons: Hamad I Mohammed, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Yousef Saba, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Denmark's, Saudi Arabia's Crown, NEOM, Public Investment Fund, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Rights DUBAI, Saudi, NEOM

☆ China to issue $137 bln sovereign debt to support economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters reported on Monday that China's parliament was set to approve just over 1 trillion yuan in additional sovereign debt issuance, citing sources. "The additional fiscal support approved today is the intervention we had been expecting and that was needed to prevent an abrupt fiscal tightening in China in the closing weeks of the year," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. China has previously let local governments issue bonds ahead of the annual session of parliament, which approves government budget plans and is usually held in March. Local governments had been told to complete the issuance of the 2023 quota of 3.8 trillion yuan in special local bonds by September to fund infrastructure projects. The government has not disclosed the size of local governments' 2024 frontloaded bond quotas.

Persons: Mark Williams, Williams, Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang, Ella Cao, Jason Neely, Susan Fenton Organizations: Xinhua, Reuters, National People's Congress, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Asia, Beijing

☆ European regulator approves Farfetch deal for YNAP, Richemont says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A banner to celebrate the IPO of online fashion house Farfetch is displayed on the facade of the of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2018. Completion of the deal remains subject to "certain other conditions that Richemont and Farfetch are working towards fulfilling", Richemont said, promising a further update "in due course", without providing further detail. Under the terms of the deal unveiled in August 2022, Richemont would sell a stake of 47.5% in loss-making YNAP in exchange for more than 50 million Farfetch shares, and Farfetch could acquire the rest of YNAP through a put and call option arrangement. Bernstein analysts said last week that Farfetch's troubles raised questions for Richemont, which is set to transfer its online business to technology run by Farfetch and provide a $450 million credit facility. Reporting by John Revill and Mimosa Spencer; editing by Friederike Heine, Clarence Fernandez and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Porter, Cartier, Richemont, Farfetch, Bernstein, Bergdorf Goodman, John Revill, Mimosa Spencer, Friederike Heine, Clarence Fernandez, Jason Neely Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Yoox, Farfetch, Citi, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Richemont, YNAP, Farfetch, Harrods

New Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker is keen to restore Roche's battered drug development record after major late-stage trial setbacks in the areas of Alzheimer's and cancer immunotherapy last year. The acquired drug, against inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, belongs to a class of new treatments known as anti-TL1A antibodies which has attracted major deal activity in the pharma industry. Merck & Co (MRK.N) in April agreed to buy anti-TL1A antibody developer Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8 billion. Inflammatory bowel disease is a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders with almost 8 million people diagnosed worldwide and 80% of all individuals not experiencing lasting remission, Roche said. "We strongly believe this novel TL1A directed antibody has the transformational potential to make a significant difference for patients living with inflammatory bowel disease and potentially other diseases," said Roche CEO Schinecker.

Persons: drugmaker Roche, Arnd, New Roche, Thomas Schinecker, Schinecker, Roche, John Revill, Ludwig Burger, Friederike Heine, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Roivant Holdings, Pfizer Inc, pharma, Sanofi, Merck & Co, Prometheus Biosciences, Thomson Locations: Basel, Switzerland, ZURICH, FRANKFURT, Swiss, U.S, Japan, Zurich, Frankfurt

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummary Oil prices drop on Friday but gain over 1% for the weekHamas releases two US hostages in GazaEarlier, Israeli minister said troops to see Gaza 'from inside'Global oil market already faces supply concernsBENGALURU, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled lower on Friday after the Islamist group Hamas released two U.S. hostages from Gaza, leading to hopes the Israeli-Palestinian crisis could de-escalate without engulfing the rest of the Middle East region and disrupting oil supplies. Brent crude futures fell 22 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $92.16 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for November delivery , which expired after settlement on Friday, fell 62 cents, or 0.7%, to $88.75 a barrel. Hamas' armed wing released two U.S. hostages from Gaza - a mother and her daughter - "for humanitarian reasons" in response to Qatari mediation efforts in the war with Israel, its spokesman Abu Ubaida said on Friday. "The report took some of the risk premium out of the market," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Abu Ubaida, Phil Flynn, Yoav Gallant, John Kilduff, Kilduff, Giovanni Staunovo, Brent, Staunovo, Shariq Khan, Paul Carsten, Florence Tan, Sudarshan, Shri Navaratnam, Jason Neely, David Gregorio, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Brent, . West Texas, Price Futures, Israeli, Pentagon, UBS, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Gaza, BENGALURU, Hamas, Israel, Yemen, New York, Saudi Arabia, Russia

A person puts gas in a vehicle at a gas station in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 11, 2022. Brent crude futures rose $1.00, or 1.1%, to $93.26 a barrel by 11:24 a.m. EDT (1524 GMT). Both front-month contracts were headed for a second weekly gain on heightened fears of the Middle East conflict spreading. "The Middle East remains a big focus of the market because of fears of a region-wide conflict that would likely involve a disruption of oil supplies," said John Kilduff, a partner at New York-based Again Capital. "Venezuelan oil production will not be a significant factor in shaping the global oil balance in the foreseeable future," Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM wrote in a note.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Brent, John Kilduff, Kilduff, Yoav Gallant, Washington's, Phil Flynn, Tamas Varga, PVM, Shariq Khan, Paul Carsten, Florence Tan, Sudarshan, Shri Navaratnam, Jason Neely, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, . West Texas, Israeli, Pentagon, . Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Price Futures, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Gaza, Venezuela, BENGALURU, Israel, New York, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC

All three benchmarks had gained more than $1 in earlier trading, and both front-month contracts are set to record a second weekly gain as an explosion at a Gaza hospital this week and an anticipated ground invasion by Israeli troops heightened fears of the conflict spreading in the Middle East. "Signs that an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip is imminent have been pushing oil prices up significantly since yesterday. So far, however, the supply situation on the market has not changed," Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note on Friday. Oil prices are "likely to remain well supported, especially as the oil market is significantly undersupplied at present", they said. "Venezuelan oil production will not be a significant factor in shaping the global oil balance in the foreseeable future," Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM wrote in a note.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Brent, Yoav Gallant, Tamas Varga, PVM, Paul Carsten, Florence Tan, Sudarshan, Shri Navaratnam, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Brent, . West Texas, Israeli, Pentagon, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, U.S . Department of Energy, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Gaza, Venezuela, Israel, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United States, Washington, OPEC, London

☆ Low-cost EV maker e.GO eyes European, US expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aachen-based e.GO's microfactories cost around $60 million to build, are highly automated and can make around 30,000 EVs annually, Vezvaei said. The company is going public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Athena Consumer Acquisition , which will value the EV maker at around $900 million, plus raise $235 million in cash and $50 million in debt financing. The EV maker currently makes the e.Wave X, a small four-seater EV for 24,990 euros ($26,457) at its plant in Aachen. The company's listing comes a few years after a major wave of SPAC mergers where EV startups raised billions of dollars. "This is not yet just another EV company, but a company that actually makes cars," she said.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Ali Vezvaei, Vezvaei, e.GO, Tesla's, Isabelle Freidheim, Nick Carey, Jason Neely Organizations: e.GO Mobile, REUTERS, Mobile, U.S, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Aachen, Germany, Europe, North Macedonia, U.S

Both front-month contracts are set to record a second weekly gain as an explosion at a Gaza hospital this week and an anticipated ground invasion by Israeli troops heightened fears of the conflict spreading in the Middle East. "Signs that an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip is imminent have been pushing oil prices up significantly since yesterday. So far, however, the supply situation on the market has not changed," Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note on Friday. Oil prices are "likely to remain well supported, especially as the oil market is significantly undersupplied at present", they said. "Venezuelan oil production will not be a significant factor in shaping the global oil balance in the foreseeable future," Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM wrote in a note.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Brent, Yoav Gallant, Tamas Varga, PVM, Paul Carsten, Florence Tan, Sudarshan, Shri Navaratnam, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Minister, Brent, . West Texas, Israeli, Pentagon, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, U.S . Department of Energy, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Gaza, Venezuela, Israel, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United States, Washington, OPEC, London

☆ EU antitrust regulators resume Adobe, Figma probe, deadline Feb. 5
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Adobe logo is seen on smartphone in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Adobe Inc FollowFigma Inc FollowBRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - European Union antitrust regulators have resumed their investigation into Photoshop maker Adobe's (ADBE.O) $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma, setting a Feb. 5 deadline for their decision, a European Commission filing showed on Friday. The EU watchdog stopped the clock last month while waiting for requested information from the companies. Adobe will likely have to provide remedies to address such concerns before it can secure regulatory approval for the deal. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Foo Yun Chee, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Union, EU, Adobe, Thomson

☆ Elon Musk's X to launch premium subscriptions soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo for social media platform X, following the rebranding of Twitter, is seen covering the old logo in this illustration taken, July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 20 (Reuters) - Elon Musk said on Friday social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions. Earlier this week, the company started charging new users $1 in New Zealand and the Philippines as a test case for accessing the platform. Musk has acknowledged that the platform has taken a hit on revenue and has blamed activists for pressuring advertisers. To generate revenue, Musk started charging $8 per month for the blue check subscription service and tried to woo advertisers back to X with offers of discounts.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon Musk, Musk, Gursimran Kaur, Supantha Mukherjee, Savio D'Souza, Jason Neely Organizations: Twitter, REUTERS, Supantha, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Philippines, Bengaluru, Stockholm

☆ EV maker VinFast strikes shares deal with Yorkville for up to $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHANOI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast said on Friday it has entered into a share subscription of up to $1 billion with U.S.-based fund Yorkville Advisors as it seeks to fund expansion in overseas markets. VinFast has the option, but not the obligation, to require Yorkville to subscribe for up to $1.0 billion worth of ordinary shares in VinFast at any time during the term of the agreement, VinFast said in a filing to the U.S. securities authority. VinFast so far has sold around 22,000 cars, aiming to meet this year's sale target of 40,000 to 50,000 units. Yorkville two years ago bought up to $400 mln worth of share in EV maker Lordstown. In April it said it would receive a fresh round of funding pledges worth $2.5 billion for its future development, of which $1 billion would be from its founder's pocket.

Persons: Mike Blake, VinFast, Pham Nhat Vuong, Ford, –, David Mansfield, Vuong, Mark Angelo, VinFast's, Tesla, Phuong Nguyen, Jason Neely, Martin Petty Organizations: Los Angeles Auto, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Yorkville Advisors, Nasdaq, Yorkville, Lordstown, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, Rights HANOI, Yorkville, VinFast, Vietnam

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