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☆ China's SenseTime unveils new AI products and chatbot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of SenseTime is seen at SenseTime office, in Shanghai, China December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Aly SongHONG KONG, April 10 (Reuters) - China's SenseTime (0020.HK) unveiled on Monday a slew of new artificial intelligence-powered products including a chatbot and image generator, joining a global race ignited by the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Big models are typically trained on massive datasets using powerful hardware. Global interest in AI technology has soared since the debut in late 2022 of ChatGPT, a popular chat bot developed by U.S. company OpenAI which uses generative AI technology that learns from past data to create new text, images or computer code. "We have been focusing on developing our big models.

☆ Pope hopes Northern Ireland accord can be 'consolidated' to benefit all Ireland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, April 10 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Monday he was praying that the Good Friday agreement signed 25 years ago that largely ended violence in Northern Ireland can be "consolidated" to benefit the people of all of Ireland. "Today marks the 25th anniversary of the so-called Good Friday agreement, or of Belfast, which brought an end to the violence that for decades troubled Northern Ireland," Francis said. Angry about post-Brexit trade rules that treated the province of Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the United Kingdom, the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest pro-British party, has boycotted the power-sharing devolved government central to the peace deal for more than a year. Last month, Britain's MI5 intelligence agency increased the threat level in Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to "severe" - meaning an attack was considered highly likely. Additional reporting by Michael Holden in London; editing by John Stonestreet, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Two more die as Israel-Palestinian unrest simmers, political faultlines widen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Mohamad Torokman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Relatives react during the funeral of a Palestinian who was killed during an Israeli raid, near Jericho in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, April 10, 2023. In a sign of Israel's fracturing political faultlines, thousands of Israelis marched towards Evyatar, an evacuated outpost in the West Bank, in support of the expansion of settlements. "I had just left my house when I saw military forces and people throwing stones," said Fayez Balhan, the teen's father. Israeli forces are still trying to track the assailant down. Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital - territories Israel captured in a 1967 war.

☆ Pakistan's finance minister opposes snap polls mandated by top court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, April 10 (Reuters) - Provincial snap elections are not in Pakistan's national interest given its economic turmoil and security situation, the country's finance minister said on Monday, in defiance of an order by the country's supreme court. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday put forward a financial bill to seek a vote on whether to approve the election funding. "The country's economic, security and internal conditions demand that snap polls aren't in the national interest," he said in a televised speech to parliament. He suggested holding the elections together in all provinces and national seats, saying that would reduce logistics and security expenses. ($1 = 286.2500 Pakistani rupees)Reporting by Asif Shahzad; editing by John Stonestreet and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Finland's Marin steps down as party leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] Social Democratic Party SDP Chair and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin meets media at the Parliament in Helsinki, Finland on April 5, 2023. Lehtikuva/Heikki Saukkomaa via REUTERSHELSINKI, April 5 (Reuters) - Finland's outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin is stepping down as leader of the Social Democratic party, she said on Wednesday, adding she will serve as a regular lawmaker in the newly elected parliament from next week. "I will start my work as member of parliament next week and I hope I can also lead a calmer life," Marin told a news conference, adding she would not run for president. Marin sought another term as Finland's leader in last Sunday's election but her party came third behind the right-wing National Coalition and the Finns parties. Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Louise Rasmussen and John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Romania lifts Eurobond issuance ceiling, could still downsize targets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUCHAREST, April 5 (Reuters) - Romania's Finance Ministry has raised its Eurobond issuance ceiling to account for indicative foreign debt plans worth 9.5 billion euros ($10.4 billion) from April until December 2024, treasury chief Stefan Nanu said. The ministry raised the maximum amount the ministry could borrow through its medium term note programme (MTN), a non-binding foreign debt issuance plan that allows debt managers to tap markets through standardised documents. The ministry sold foreign issues worth 55.6 billion euros during 2012-2023, nearly tapping out the MTN's current top value of 56 billion euros. The ministry has raised it by 6 billion euros, adding foreign issues worth 4.6 billion euros will mature this year and in 2024. "It is possible we will cut Eurobond issuance considering the way domestic funding goes."

☆ Swiss sight deposits fall, suggesting Credit Suisse, UBS took less emergency help
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ZURICH, April 3 (Reuters) - Sight deposits held by the Swiss National Bank declined last week, data showed on Monday, suggesting that Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and UBS (UBSG.S) may have cut back on use of emergency funds offered them to facilitate their planned merger. Total sight deposits - meaning commercial bank cash held by the central bank overnight - fell to 563.566 billion Swiss francs ($614.71 billion) from 567.003 billion francs in the previous week, the SNB data showed. Sight deposits had risen 51.8 billion francs the week before, the second biggest increase on record and probably linked to UBS and Credit Suisse tapping the liquidity lines offered by the SNB and Swiss government after the takeover was announced. Both banks have been offered 200 billion francs in emergency liquidity after Credit Suisse suffered massive outflows from worried investors. The SNB and Credit Suisse both declined to comment on the changes in sight deposits on Monday.

☆ Julius Baer CEO eyes gains from Credit Suisse's fall -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, April 3 (Reuters) - Julius Baer (BAER.S) is having "constructive discussions" with Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) staff who are looking to leave following their bank's takeover by UBS (UBSG.S), the Swiss private bank's Chief Executive said in an interview on Monday. The takeover, engineered by Swiss authorities last month, would be difficult, he told the newspaper. "An integration of that order of magnitude in Switzerland is going to take a lot of resources and effort, and a lot of complexity." "We have hiring opportunities in Latin America, we have hiring opportunities in Asia ...and ... in Europe and in Switzerland," he said. "Things will remain very complicated — everything that was there a month ago will not go away," Rickenbacher said.

☆ Credit Suisse's biggest backer says can't put up more cash; share down by a fifth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Rachna Uppal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RIYADH, March 15 (Reuters) - The head of Credit Suisse Group's largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank (SNB) (1180.SE), said on Wednesday it would not buy more shares in the Swiss bank on regulatory grounds. The Saudi bank holds a 9.88% stake in Credit Suisse, according to Refinitiv data. The Saudi bank would exit when proper value to the shares had been acquired, he added. At 1046 GMT, Credit Suisse shares were trading down 20% at 1.7840 Swiss francs"We are happy with the plan, the transformation plan that they have put forward. Credit Suisse on Tuesday published its annual report for 2022 saying the bank had identified "material weaknesses" in controls over financial reporting and not yet stemmed customer outflows.

☆ U.S. FDIC shifts SVB deposits to new bridge bank, names CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A sign for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters is seen in Santa Clara, California, U.S. March 10, 2023. In a statement, the FDIC said all customers of SVB would automatically become customers of the bridge bank, which will hold "normal banking hours and activities, including online banking." The regulator has also tapped former Fannie Mae head Tim Mayopoulos as the chief executive officer of the newly created entity, named Silicon Valley Bank N.A., it said. "All depositors of the institution will be made whole," FDIC said, adding that no bank losses would fall on U.S. taxpayers. "These actions will protect depositors and preserve the value of the assets and operations of Silicon Valley Bank, which may improve recoveries for creditors and the DIF," it added.

MADRID/PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) - Doubts are growing over the future of Madrid's remaining orders for the Airbus (AIR.PA) A400M troop plane, European defence sources said on Monday, as corporate leaders and dignitaries marked the centenary of Spain's military planemaking activities. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Defence Minister Margarita Robles and King Felipe also attended Monday's event. Spain and Airbus are in discussions over how to soften any impact from a partial A400M order cancellation, sources said. Defence publication Janes reported last year that Airbus was waiting for Madrid to back the SIRTAP tactical drone project, co-developed by Airbus Spain and Colombia. Spain also last year ordered an extra 20 Eurofighter combat jets, a four-nation fighter programmre for which Airbus is the industrial partner in Spain and Germany.

☆ Iran pardons 22,000 people who took part in protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, March 13 (Reuters) - Iranian judicial authorities have pardoned 22,000 people who took part in anti-government protests, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Monday, according to the official IRNA news agency. State media reported early last month that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had pardoned "tens of thousands" of prisoners including some arrested in the protests in a deadly crackdown on dissent. "So far 82,000 people have been pardoned, including 22,000 people who participated in (the) protests," Ejei said. People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. Iran has been swept by protests since the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the country's morality police last September.

☆ ICC to seek warrants against Russians over alleged Ukraine war crimes - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was unclear which Russian individuals the ICC prosecutor would seek warrants for or exactly when, but the warrants could include the crime of genocide, said the source. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. He highlighted during four trips to Ukraine that he was looking at alleged crimes against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure. A U.S.-backed report by Yale University researchers last month said Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children at sites in Russian-held Crimea. Russia has strongly denied that its forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.

☆ Britain's finance minister flags back-to-work incentives in budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Finance minister Jeremy Hunt will set out measures to boost Britain's workforce next week, by offering financial incentives in his budget for parents with young children, disabled people and others to rejoin the workforce. Foreign workers left the country en masse over Brexit, while hundreds of thousands of older people gave up their jobs during COVID-19. The finance ministry said on Saturday that Hunt's fiscal plan, due on Wednesday, will focus on removing barriers that dissuade people of working age from getting jobs. "I want this back-to-work budget to break down these barriers," Hunt said in a statement from the ministry on Saturday. Hunt also plans to allow disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to work without removing their supplementary financial support.

☆ Mass protests against Israeli judicial overhaul enter 10th week
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People hold Israeli flags during a demonstration as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its contentious judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 11, 2023. "It's not a judicial reform. The protests were mostly peaceful, though Reuters witnessed some injuries and arrests among protesters when police moved in against attempts to block traffic. Netanyahu, who returned to office for a sixth term in late December, says the demonstrations are aimed at toppling him. "I am here to protest against the reform in the law, and to protest our prime minister, who we call 'Crime Minister'," said demonstrator Miri Lahat, 63.

Looney's base salary of 1.3 million pounds was topped up by retirement benefits and performance-related elements including an annual bonus and shares to 10.03 million pounds ($11.99 million), more than double the 4.46 million pounds he was awarded in 2021. The ex-CEO of energy rival Shell (SHEL.L), Ben van Beurden, saw his pay package rise 53% to 9.7 million pounds after Shell reported record profits of $40 billion. EMISSIONSBP's emissions in 2022 were broadly unchanged from the previous year at around 340 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to its annual report and Reuters calculations. Unlike Shell, BP in its figures excludes emissions from fuels it sells that are derived from crude oil it does not produce. This measure includes all energy BP sells including fuel originally produced by other companies.

The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6% in February as more workers entered the labor force, and wage gains slowed to 0.2% from 0.3% in January, the Labor Department's report showed. "This report screams soft landing and looks to be a pretty good one for the Fed," said Omair Sharif of Inflation Insights. After the report, futures tied to the Fed policy rate pointed to a quarter-point rate hike as the most likely outcome of the central bank's meeting this month. Traders also slashed expectations for the Fed to ultimately raise rates any higher than 5.5%. "However, the February CPI report will also weigh heavily in the Fed’s deliberations of whether to raise rates 25bps or 50bps.

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Children returning to school after an illness-ravaged December provided an unexpected, one-off boost to Britain's economy in January, when growth in output exceeded forecasts, data showed on Friday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Britain's economy expanded 0.3% month-on-month, after a drop of 0.5% in December - a reading that is likely to further allay recession fears. ONS Director of Economic Statistics Darren Morgan said the economy had shown zero growth over the last three months and the past year. The ONS said half of the 0.3% growth rate comprised the education sector, as a result of children returning to school after a significant drop in attendance in December. Fear of contracting COVID-19 over Christmas may also have contributed to children being taken out of school early.

☆ Canada gains 21,800 jobs in February, jobless rate holds at 5.0%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, March 10 (Reuters) - The Canadian economy gained a net 21,800 jobs in February, exceeding analyst forecasts, while the jobless rate also unexpectedly held steady at 5.0%, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a net gain of 10,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to edge up to 5.1%. The services sector added a net 4,200 jobs, helped by the gains in health care and public administration, while employment in the goods sector increased by a net 17,500 jobs, led by utilities and manufacturing sectors. The Canadian dollar strengthened to 1.3787 per U.S. dollar after jobs data, up 0.3% on the day. Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Dale Smith in Ottawa; editing by Jason Neely and John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/6] People walk in a street where garbage cans are overflowing, as garbage has not been collected, in Paris, France March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Benoit TessierPARIS, March 10 (Reuters) - Garbage piled up in Paris streets and fuel deliveries were blocked from refineries as workers continued rolling strikes against pension reform but President Emmanuel Macron refused to meet with unions and said the reform must go ahead. But the hardline CGT union at TotalEnergies' Donges refinery said the strike would continue at least until Thursday and garbage collector unions had set no date for a resumption of services. According to an interior ministry note cited by French TV BFM, police expect that 800,000 to one million people will demonstrate. Fuel deliveries were also disrupted at the Fos refinery, operated by ExxonMobil (XOM.N) subsidiary Esso, a CGT spokesperson said.

☆ Swiss antitrust agency names four firms in fragrance cartel probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( John Stonestreet | Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) -The Swiss antitrust agency on Wednesday named four companies it is investigating for forming an alleged fragrance cartel that is also the target of U.S. and other European watchdogs. Slideshow ( 2 images )They are Switzerland’s Givaudan, domestic rival Firmenich, which is merging with Dutch chemicals group DSM, U.S.-based International Flavors & Fragrances Inc and Germany’s Symrise, Swiss competition commission COMCO said. News of the probe into the supply of fragrances and fragrance ingredients broke on Tuesday, when Givaudan confirmed it was being investigated. A Symrise spokesperson confirmed the group was part of the investigation and that it would cooperate with authorities. Givaudan’s shares dropped 2.7% and DSM lost 2.8%, while U.S.-listed International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) was down 2.9% at Tuesday’s close.

☆ Swiss antitrust agency names four firms in fragrances cartel probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Swiss flavours and fragrances maker Givaudan is seen at its innovation center in Kemptthal, Switzerland January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannZURICH, March 8 (Reuters) - Swiss antitrust authorities on Wednesday named four companies targeted in an international investigation into an alleged fragrances cartel. They are Switzerland's Givaudan SA (GIVN.S), U.S.-headquartered Firmenich International, U.S.-based International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF.N) and Germany's Symrise AG (SY1G.DE), Swiss competition commission COMCO said. News of the probe into the supply of fragrances and fragrance ingredients broke on Tuesday, when fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan confirmed it was being targeted. A Symrise spokesperson confirmed the group was part of the investigation and would cooperate with authorities.

☆ ECB's Holzmann calls for four more 50 bps rate hikes- Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should raise interest rates by 50 basis points at each of its next four meetings as inflation is proving to be stubborn, Austrian central bank chief Robert Holzmann told German business daily Handelsblatt. The ECB has raised rates by 3 percentage points since July and flagged a 50 basis point increase for March. Holzmann, an outspoken conservative - or hawk in policy terms - however said that based on current trends, he would favour 50 basis point moves in March, May, June and July. "I expect it to take a very long time for inflation to come down," Holzmann was quoted on Monday as saying. The four steps advocated by Holzmann would take the deposit rate to 4.5%, well above the 4% peak rate priced in by markets, a level no other policymaker has so far advocated in public.

☆ EX-UK leader Boris Johnson nominates father for knighthood - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Times said Johnson had put forward as many as 100 names for awards. The newspaper did not specify what service Stanley Johnson's nomination was in acknowledgement of. All departing British leaders are entitled to draw up a "resignation honours" list that bestows knighthoods and other titles. Opposition Labour's health policy chief Wes Streeting told the BBC: "I think (his resignation honours list) speaks to a pattern of Boris Johnson's behaviour around cronyism." As prime minister, Johnson in 2020 elevated his brother Jo Johnson to the House of Lords, the upper chamber of parliament, where he has a seat for life.

☆ US flies B-52 in joint drill with S.Korea - S.Korea defence ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Air Force/Handout via REUTERSSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - The United states deployed a B-52 bomber for a joint drill with its ally South Korea on Monday, in a show of force against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's defence ministry said. North Korea has traditionally called for those joint exercises to be called off, branding them as a prelude to invasion. With denuclearisation talks stalled, North Korea conducted a record number of missile launches last year. As South Korea has lifted anti-COVID measures, the allies are returning to large-scale drills. South Korea and the United States will achieve "peace through strength" by stepping up joint drills, the ministry in Seoul said in a statement.

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