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CTIL is attracting interest from pension funds including Britain's largest, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which has started preliminary work on a potential offer, two of the sources said. Telefonica, Liberty Global and USS declined to comment. A number of telecom towers deals in Europe have seen infrastructure investors compete for a slice of the continent’s largest towers networks partly because of their stable cash yield and long-term contracts. Vodafone (VOD.L) owns 50% of CTIL through its Frankfurt-based subsidiary Vantage Towers (VTWRn.DE), and is not planning to cut its holding, the people said. Telefonica and Liberty Global do not plan to ask Vantage Towers to bid for the holding for competitive reasons, according to the sources.

☆ European telecoms' advertising venture against Big Tech wins EU antitrust nod
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A man carrying his computer passes by the logo of German telecommunication company "Deutsche Telekom" at the ITS World Congress 2021, a fair for intelligent transport systems, in Hamburg, Germany, October 13, 2021. REUTERS/Fabian BimmerBRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Vodafone (VOD.L) on Friday secured unconditional EU antitrust approval for their advertising joint venture to take on Big Tech. "The transaction, as notified, would not significantly reduce competition in French, German, Italian and Spanish markets," the European Commission said in a statement. This is the telecoms sector's first attempt to take on Meta (META.O) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google in the lucrative online advertising sector and diversify their revenue streams. Google is the world's leading seller of online advertising, well ahead of Meta, with the business generating about 80% of its revenue.

☆ Fertiliser boom reveals food security price power
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A top fertiliser maker has emerged as the surprise winner of Europe’s energy crisis. Food security concerns helped Yara weather the crisis. That and a war in potash and wheat exporter Ukraine created scarcity, which drove up the price of its much-desired products. Before Wednesday’s 5% share bump, it traded on just 4 times its expected 2023 earnings. Now that Yara has proved it can weather a major crisis, this gap is likely to narrow.

☆ Time series data startup InfluxData, used by Tesla and IBM, just raised $81 million in debt and equity with this 19-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Time series data startup InfluxData has raised $81 million in debt and equity. We got an exclusive look at the 19-slide pitch deck InfluxData used to raise the fresh funds. A startup that provides time series data analytics for the likes of Tesla, Cisco, and IBM has raised $81 million in a mix of debt and equity. Time series data refers to information gathered from sources ranging from temperature sensors to high-frequency trading data. In addition, the company has brought in a $30 million debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ BP strategy is still caught between two stools
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - BP (BP.L) is trying to stop the rot. The $108 billion UK oil group’s bumper 2022 results on Tuesday recorded a stellar 30.5% return on average capital employed. But fresh investment in oil and gas means he only plans to cut oil production by 25% by 2030, rather than 40%. The reason that probably won’t happen any time soon is that BP is still planning to cut oil production and hike non-fossil fuel investment more than American rivals. Otherwise, BP may remain too dirty for sustainable investors, and too clean for the rest.

☆ SoftBank is paying for Son’s past exuberance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Warren Buffett once advised investors to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. In other words, Son and his dealmakers spent big when valuations were unsustainably high and then retreated as prices slumped. SoftBank’s family of startup-investing vehicles, including the two Vision Funds and a Latin America-focused one, have clocked up $6.6 billion of cumulative losses on their investments since 2017. In other words, Son is out of ammunition just when it would be the most useful. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ India’s Vodafone rescue has strings attached
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Feb 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - New Delhi has finally come good on its promise to convert Vodafone Idea’s (VODA.NS) dues worth $2 billion into an equity stake. The state’s move, which dialed up a 10% gain in Vodafone Idea’s stock, could ease the company’s pressures elsewhere. A recently extended repayment schedule for $194 million of cash owed to American Tower (AMT.N) should bolster its chances, too. India’s Telecommunications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday that concomitant with the swap is a “firm commitment” of fresh capital from the Aditya Birla group, Vodafone Idea’s second-largest shareholder. For a group that has often expressed a wish to exit the telecom business, the bailout must feel like a Pyrrhic victory.

☆ EV makers fill up on cash before looming pileup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Battery-powered-car makers are pulling off at the cash station. A recent stock rally provides an extra charge before the inevitable pileup. Despite having no revenue, Faraday’s market value has quadrupled since the start of the year after a roughly 90% fall. Likewise, $388 million Canoo, whose top line is nonexistent, is selling 50 million shares and 50 million warrants to raise just $52 million. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Real and fake meat share problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO, Feb 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Pain in the fake meat market is starting to spread to the real one. That’s still much better than Beyond Meat (BYND.O), which isn’t even booking an operating profit at this point. But the two companies share a few of the same problems that aren’t going away. With prices along the supply chain going up, including for transportation, consumers are making other choices. Forgoing meat – no matter the consistency – is a real problem.

☆ Renault’s Nissan upshot is mostly good news
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The French automaker and its partner, Nissan (7201.T), confirmed on Monday that the Japanese giant will be buying up to 15% of Renault’s (RENA.PA) electric-car spinoff, Ampere. It however suggests that they will be waiting a long time to benefit from Renault’s planned sale of the 28.4% Nissan stake it will park in a non-voting trust. The sale was necessary to reduce Renault’s voting rights in its partner to 15%, on a par with the Japanese company’s interest in its own equity. Given that the deal also stipulates there will be no fixed timeline for the transaction, it could be a while coming. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Sanofi’s ailments are more than skin deep
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sanofi (SASY.PA) is battling multiple ailments. The $115 billion French pharma group on Friday forecast “low single digit” growth in earnings per share for 2023, disappointing analysts. Hence it’s more reliant on the star asthma and eczema drug Dupixent, which contributed nearly a fifth of Sanofi’s 43 billion euros of sales in 2022. Last August, $36 billion was wiped off Sanofi, GSK (GSK.L) and spinoff Haleon (HLN.L) shares on U.S. litigation fears. It currently trades on 10 times its forecast 2023 earnings, while Novartis (NOVN.S) trades on 13 times.

☆ Rapid hiring has bad and worse consequences
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Exceptionally fast U.S. hiring has worrying consequences. With unemployment dipping to a 54-year low last month, the U.S. Federal Reserve will probably keep hiking interest rates well into 2023. The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. The sum nearly doubled the previous month’s gain and showed the economy on much stronger footing than anticipated. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ India asks Vodafone Idea to convert nearly $2 bln in govt dues into equity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Troubled Indian mobile service provider Vodafone Idea Ltd (VODA.NS) said on Friday the government had ordered the company to convert into equity all the dues owed to the government for use of airwaves including the interest related to payments for spectrum. The total amount to be converted into equity shares is 161.33 billion rupees ($1.96 billion), the mobile carrier said. The company said it has been directed to issue 16.13 billion shares at 10 rupees each. The conversion of Vodafone Idea dues into equity was approved by India's capital market regulator, Reuters reported in October last year. The sector's troubles had also been compounded by large dues owed to the government.

☆ Data could help save crypto’s image
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Cryptocurrency could use a reputational boost right now. So it’s problematic that those who could help legitimize the business aren’t going gangbusters. But a string of bankruptcies in the business has clients cutting back on spending – and some disappearing completely. While Chainalysis, backed by GIC, says it plans to grow overall headcount in 2023, the cuts are the wrong sign for those who use its services. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Vodafone reports Q3 slowdown, hit by Germany, Italy and Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) reported a slowdown in its group service revenue growth to 1.8% in the third quarter from 2.5% in the second, driven by declines in Germany, Italy and Spain. The mobile and broadband operator reported a worsening performance in Germany, it biggest market, with a fall of 1.8% in service revenue, reflecting customer losses after it was badly prepared for past changes in legislation. Intense competition in Italy and Spain also continued to hurt, reflected in falls of 3.3% and 8.7% respectively. Britain, however, continued to perform strongly, with a rise of 5.3% driven by good customer growth and price increases. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Lights, camera, action
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Investors are pricing in a quarter-of-a-percentage-point increase in the Fed's benchmark interest rate, which would mark the smallest hike since U.S. central bankers kicked off their tightening cycle 10 months ago with one the same size. But the forecasts still risk lagging behind policymakers' guidance on how high rates will go. The Bank of England is also expected to raise its interest rates by half a percentage point to 4% on Thursday. For today, European markets will focus on euro zone January flash PMI data, while results are due from Vodafone (VOD.L), GSK (GSK.L) and Novartis (NOVN.S). Germany and Italy figured among the biggest euro zone countries that recorded negative growth rates for the quarter but France and Spain expanded.

☆ Exclusive: European telecoms' advertising venture set for EU approval -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Vodafone's (VOD.L) plan to take on Big Tech with their own advertising joint venture is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval, people familiar with the matter said. The joint venture marks the telecoms sector's first attempt to take on Meta (META.O) and Alphabet'S (GOOGL.O) Google in the lucrative online advertising sector and diversify their revenue streams. Google is the world's leading seller of online advertising, well ahead of Meta, with the business generating about 80% of its revenue. The EU competition enforcer describes the joint venture as a privacy-led, digital identification solution to support the digital marketing and advertising activities of brands and publishers. Earlier this week, pan-European consumer lobbying group BEUC voiced concerns over how data would be collected by the joint venture and how the partners aim to get users' consent.

☆ Vodafone travails require more than caretaker CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Vodafone (VOD.L) needs more than an interim chief executive to dig itself out of its current funk. Sales fell 1.8% in Germany in the quarter ending December, which accounts for more than 30% of the group’s overall revenue. Della Valle is accelerating the group’s 1 billion euros cost-cutting plan, and implementing her predecessor’s decisions. But an interim CEO cannot take strategic decisions, such as whether or not to sell the Italian unit eyed by France’s Iliad - whose owner Xavier Niel has taken a 2.5% stake in Vodafone. Vodafone needs a permanent CEO.

☆ Britain kicks crypto when it’s down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britain’s answer, unveiled by Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith on Wednesday, is that the existing framework suffices. The government intends to regulate the digital assets using the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000, legislation applied to the City of London. The consultation also notes that the City and Wall Street typically segregate activity consolidated by crypto groups, such as being a broker, exchange, lender or custodian. Coming on the heels of last year’s collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX means Britain’s kick lands when the industry is down. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Chelsea shrugs off cost-of-living crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The cost-of-living crisis has yet to reach soccer players. Chelsea Football Club, owned by a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly, spent a record 330 million euros in the January player transfer window, according to Transfermarkt. It brings total spending on footballers since the Los Angeles Dodgers owner acquired the club last May to over 600 million euros. It also brings total spending by Premier League clubs this season to a record 2.8 billion pounds, beating the 1.86 billion pounds spent in the 2017/18 season. The Boehly-led consortium bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich for 2.5 billion pounds, equivalent to a toppy 5.7 times trailing sales.

☆ Analysts love these stocks that are flush with cash — giving one over 75% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"We prefer companies generating cash rather than those that need capital to grow. The higher the free cash flow yield, the better a company's position to meet its debt obligations. A company with a high free cash flow is also able to access cash more quickly in the event of an emergency or opportunity. Using FactSet data, CNBC Pro screened for stocks that boast lots of cash and could be well positioned for a rocky year. U.S.-listed Chesapeake Energy Corporation was the only energy stock to appear on the screen, with its free cash flow yield at nearly 14%.

☆ Cellnex takeover would disrupt key strategic pivot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A week after founder Tobias Martinez resigned from his chief executive role, Cellnex (CLNX.MC) could also lose its shareholders. Meanwhile the departure of Martinez was expected to herald a return to sobriety in a sector where low interest rates and high leverage boosted consolidation. In the age of higher interest rates, it may be time for the former predator to become prey. Okdiario hints that Cellnex’s main shareholders, led by Italy’s Benetton family with an 8% stake, are inclined to sell. Everything has a price, but the high premium needed to convince shareholders to change tack amid a strategic pivot could be hard to justify.

☆ Factbox: European companies cut jobs as economy sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Stephane MaheJan 17 (Reuters) - Decades-high inflation and the impact of war in Ukraine have forced companies across Europe into lay-offs or hiring freezes. * HUSQVARNA (HUSQb.ST): the garden equipment and tools maker announced in late October it will cut 1,000 jobs, the vast majority of them related to the shift from petrol to battery-powered tools. * SIEMENS GAMESA (SGREN.MC): the Spanish wind turbine maker in late September said it plans to cut 2,900 jobs, mostly in Europe, as part of a plan to return to profitability. * CLAS OHLSON (CLASb.ST): the Swedish hardware store chain said in December it would cut about 85 full-time jobs amongst other measures to deliver cost savings and reduced depreciation. BANKS AND FINANCIALS* KLARNA: Dagens Industri reported in May the Swedish payments company would lay off about 10% of its 7,000 employees.

☆ Bank of America upgrades Vodafone, sees stock rising by nearly 50%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Vodafone 's stock price hit a 25-year low this month — but sentiment may be turning around. Bank of America analysts upgraded the U.K. company's stock to "buy" on Thursday, saying they expect shares to rise by 42% to £1.31 ($1.60) over the next 12 months. VOD 5Y line Despite this optimism, BofA's analysts believe Vodafone will still need to cut dividends by 30% to keep the balance sheet sustainable. Vantage Towers , previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone, owns 68,000 sites and was spun off from Vodafone in July 2020. Vodafone's London-listed shares are seen rising by 32% to £1.22 over the next 12 months.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Goldman, Pfizer, Cheesecake Factory, Alibaba and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday:Goldman Sachs — The bank slid more than 2% after reporting earnings-per-share and revenue that missed Wall Street estimates Tuesday. Morgan Stanley — Morgan Stanley's earnings topped Wall Street expectations Tuesday, thanks, in part to record wealth management revenue. Global Payments — Morgan Stanley upgraded Global Payments to overweight from equal weight on Tuesday, citing a more favorable competitive backdrop and attractive valuation, among other things. Church & Dwight — Morgan Stanley upgraded the consumer goods maker to overweight from equal weight and boosted its price target to $91 from $82. Alibaba — Activist investor Ryan Cohen built a stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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