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☆ World shares muted, lira plunges to record low
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Samuel Indyk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Meanwhile, Turkey's lira plunged to a record low against the greenback as authorities appeared to loosen stabilising measures after the government signalled a pivot to more orthodox policies. Spanish stocks (.IBEX) outperformed after shares in the world's biggest fast fashion company Inditex (ITX.MC) jumped almost 7% following first quarter results. That left the MSCI's broadest index of world shares (.MIWD00000PUS) up just under 0.1% but close to its highest level in 13 months reached on Monday. The dollar fell 0.1% against a basket of currencies, while the Turkish lira weakened over 7% to a record low of 23.17 per dollar, its biggest one-day sell-off since the 2021 crash. Bitcoin was trading at about $26,900, consolidating after a sharp rebound on Tuesday from as low as $25,350.

Persons: Ben Laidler, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, eToro's Laidler, Laidler, Solana, Samuel Indyk, Kevin Buckland, Xie Yu, Robert Birsel, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Staff LONDON, U.S, Federal Reserve, greenback, Nikkei, Fed, Wall, ICE, Treasury, Swissquote Bank, Data, Saudi, Brent, Texas, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, U.S, London, Turkish, China, Cardano, Polygon

In-store and online sales rose 13% to 7.6 billion euros in the first quarter, in line with the 13.5% seen in the first six weeks of the financial year. The company said it plans to invest 1.6 billion euros to increase gross store space in 2023 by about 3%. Inditex closed its over 500 stores in Russia in March 2022 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February and subsequent Western sanctions. Inditex has begun to charge for online returns in more countries with no impact on sales, the company said. Inditex is also invested in more self-scanning checkouts and is replacing hard anti-theft tags with chips sewn into garments to avoid checkout queues.

Persons: Inditex, Massimo Dutti, Anne Critchlow, Jelena Sokolova, Zara, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Charlie Devereux, Matt Scuffham, Josephine Mason, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Spain Company, Societe Generale, Inditex, Group, Morningstar, Thomson Locations: Spain, MADRID, LONDON, Zara, United States, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, UAE, France, Germany

☆ Exclusive: Vodafone and Hutchison to announce UK merger as soon as Friday
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: The company logo of CK Hutchison Holdings is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby YipHONG KONG/LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison (0001.HK) are in the final stages of agreeing to merge their British operations, with a long-awaited announcement expected as soon as Friday or early next week, three sources have told Reuters. Including debt the deal could be valued at around 15 billion pounds ($18.6 billion), according to analysts. The deal will face intense scrutiny from regulators who have previously opposed deals that reduce the number of networks in major markets from four to three. ($1 = 0.8061 pounds)Reporting by Clare Jim in Hong Kong and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bobby Yip HONG, CK Hutchison, Hutchison, Clare Jim, Paul Sandle, Kate Holton Organizations: CK Hutchison Holdings, REUTERS, Vodafone, CK, HK, Reuters, British, Hutchison, BT's, VM O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, Bobby Yip HONG KONG, London

☆ Spanish stocks outperform as Inditex jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 7 (Reuters) - Spanish stocks rose on Wednesday after Zara-owner Inditex's strong quarterly showing, while its European peers lagged as luxury companies and miners dipped after weak China trade data. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) edged 0.2% lower, while Spain's IBEX 35 index (.IBEX) gained 0.6%, as of 0712 GMT. Inditex (ITX.MC) rose nearly 4% after it said sales of its spring-summer collection jumped by 16% over the past month. European retailers (.SXRP) jumped 2.2%, leading sectoral gains, while miners (.SXPP) shed 0.7%. Worries also remained of further interest rate hikes by major central banks, including the European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve next week, in the face of slowing economic growth.

Persons: Shreyashi Sanyal, Sonia Cheema Organizations: European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Zara, China, Bengaluru

Net profit came in at 1.2 billion euros ($1.24 billion) for the quarter that ended in April, exceeding analysts' average expectations of 980 million euros in a Refinitiv poll. Inditex reported solid sales, in line with analyst expectations of 7.56 billion euros, even after selling its profitable Russian division in 2022 and absorbing higher labour costs. Part of Inditex's strategy, which also owns Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti, is to maintain higher prices outside the Eurozone. STEADY MARGINSThe gross margin reached a record 60.5%, showing it has been able to pass on higher prices to shoppers. Analysts believe only the strongest global fashion retailers will gain market share in an environment where consumers are becoming more discerning.

Persons: Inditex, Massimo Dutti, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Charlie Devereux, Matt Scuffham, Josephine Mason Organizations: Thomson Locations: MADRID, LONDON, Zara, Spain, United States, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Europe

☆ EU's Breton cites telcos' investment gap for Big Tech network fee push
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It is better to be a telco in the U.S. than in Europe," Breton told a conference. Adjusted for GDP, 5G investment in the EU is lower than in other regions of the world," he said. He dismissed fears that requiring some users to pay more than others would breach EU net neutrality rules which say all users should be treated equally. "We will not touch net neutrality. It is not a question of changing net neutrality.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Breton, Foo Yun Chee, Richard Chang Organizations: Big Tech, EU, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Alphabet's, Google, Apple, Netflix, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, United States, U.S, Breton, Orange

HONG KONG, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shein is threading the world’s trickiest geopolitical needle. But rising American pressure is forcing it to tweak its business model right as it tries to list there. Last year, its top line surged 46% to $23 billion, per the Wall Street Journal, surpassing $22 billion at H&M and outpacing the 18% growth at Inditex. A Boston Consulting Group report notes that this model allows Shein to keep inventory turnover at just 40 days. That will be expensive; the company's net profit margin was a razor-thin 3.5% last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, far below bricks and mortar rival Inditex's 13%.

Persons: Shein, Bernstein, Chris Xu, Xu, Mubadala, Pete Sweeney, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, U.S ., Rivals, Street, Financial Times, Boston Consulting, Morningstar, Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street, ’, Singapore, Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Zara, China, Inditex, Guangdong, U.S, Xinjiang, Nanjing, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, India

☆ Majority of EU countries against network fee levy on Big Tech, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 3 (Reuters) - A majority of EU countries have rejected a push by Europe's big telecoms operators to force Big Tech to help fund the rollout of 5G and broadband in the region, people familiar with the matter said. Telecoms ministers from 18 countries either rejected or criticised the proposed network fee levy on tech firms at a meeting with EU industry chief Thierry Breton in Luxembourg on Thursday, the sources said. That echoed comments made last month by EU telecoms regulators' group BEREC. Breton is expected to issue a report by the end of June with a summary of feedback provided by Big Tech, telecoms providers and others which will indicate his next steps. Any legislative proposal needs to be negotiated with EU countries and EU lawmakers before it can become law.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Breton, Foo Yun Chee, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: EU, Big Tech, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, France Telecom, French, Google, Apple Inc, Inc, Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Luxembourg, Orange, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania

Banks typically sold these perpetual bonds - known as AT1 bonds - with five years before an option to repay was triggered. In the past, investors got their money back, and banks replaced the bonds with new ones, but some are changing tack. The banks' actions show how the wipeout of billions of dollars of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds still reverberates around this market, which is estimated at roughly $275 billion. "The AT1 market is splitting," said Alessandro Cameroni, a portfolio manager at asset manager Lemanik. SHOCK ABSORBERThe AT1 bonds were designed to help banks absorb losses, and they count towards their capital buffers.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Banks, Alessandro Cameroni, Lemanik, Peter Harvey, Federated Hermes, Italy's, Morgan Stanley, Karsten Junius, J . Safra Sarasin, Chiara Elisei, Carlo Giovanni Boffa, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Suisse, Raiffeisen Bank, Reuters, Deutsche, Aareal Bank, Credit Suisse, Investors, Federated, Lloyds, Societe Generale, UBS, Santander, J ., Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Ukraine, Swiss, Schroders, Russia

☆ Internet data growth has not pushed up telcos' network costs, Dutch government says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 1 (Reuters) - The Dutch government has stepped up its criticism of a push by EU telecoms operators to get Big Tech to help pay for the rollout of 5G and broadband, saying claims that unchecked data growth has pushed up network costs are not backed by facts. "In reality, contrary to all these persistent claims, the strong growth of Internet data in the past did not confront large telecom operators with higher network costs," the paper seen by Reuters said. "In reality the total network costs have remained constant despite the consistently high growth over the last decades, whilst the profit margins of European telecom operators have improved significantly over the last decade," the paper said. They said direct payments are unjustified as end-users already pay for their access line including network traffic costs while such intervention would affect the functioning of the internet. "The synergies for such cross-border mergers to telecom operators are generally considered relatively limited, whilst there don’t seem to be convincing benefits to wider society."

Persons: Foo Yun Chee, Chizu Organizations: EU, Big Tech, European Commission, Reuters, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Google, Apple Inc, Inc, Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, Netflix's, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Luxembourg, Orange, Dutch

☆ Russian clothing brands plug gap left by Western rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Roman Churikov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People line up to enter an H&M store, which was reopened to sell the remaining stock before the company exits the Russian market, in Moscow, Russia August 2, 2022. Spain's Inditex (ITX.MC) has sold some of its more than 500 Russian stores to a UAE-based buyer. Gloria Jeans, once a re-seller of Levi's jeans, has taken over Swedish retailer H&M's central Moscow store. Russians have developed solutions with small-scale imports and online sellers helping to keep foreign brands alive, but some things remain difficult to find. Shopper Irina Nikulina said she did not miss foreign brands too much, except when needing something simple, like a reasonably priced white t-shirt.

Persons: Maxim, Spain's, Anton, Antonina, Oleg Klimov, Gloria Jeans, Ksenia Zhdanova, Zhdanova, Irina Nikulina, Tatiana Vakhonina, Roman Churikov, Lev Sergeev, Alexander Reshetnikov, Alexander Paramoshin, Alexander Marrow, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Russia's, Shopping, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Ukraine, UAE, Zara, Soviet Union, Kazakhstan

☆ ECB warns of hit to top European banks if funds run into trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The biggest risk it identified was that shadow banks withdrew their funds from banks, such as deposits and repurchase agreements. These account for 13% of all traditional banks' liabilities -- or more for larger banks. This could happen if the shadow banks -- or non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFI) in the regulators' jargon -- were themselves hit by outflows or lost confidence in a bank. Other spillover channels included forced sales of assets by shadow banks, which would cause losses at traditional banks because their portfolios often overlap or are correlated, the ECB said. It added that distress at systemically important lenders would also spell trouble for shadow banks.

☆ Man charged with murder after 3 dead in New Mexico biker shootout
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reto Mesmer/Handout via REUTERSTAOS, New Mexico, May 28 (Reuters) - A biker was charged with murder after a shootout between rival motorbike gangs at a motorcycle rally in Red River, northern New Mexico, on Saturday in which three gang members were killed and five wounded, police said. "It was just gangbanger on gangbanger," Johnson told a press conference in Red River, adding that no bystanders were injured. The confrontation began in Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city, over a photo involving another gang, then spilled over to Red River's annual Memorial Day motorcycle rally, Johnson said. Red River Mayor Linda Calhoun advised local businesses to close. Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ION unlocks financing to finalise Italy's Prelios buy-sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ION has been in talks for months with U.S. investment fund Davidson Kempner to acquire Prelios, a bad loan specialist which DK took private in 2018. While not all of the banks have completed all the necessary internal steps to approve the financing the sources said the finalisation of the deal was imminent. A stalemate over the duration of the financing has been overcome through a 'bridge to bond' structure with a longer maturity than usual, one of the sources said. 'Bridge to bond' financing normally requires the borrower to tap markets within 12-18 months to repay the loan. ION has a single-B credit rating - below the 'BBB' investment grade threshold - by Moody's and S&P Global, according to Refinitiv data.

[1/2] An advertising board shows a 5G logo at the International Airport in Zaventem, Belgium May 4, 2020. The proposal is part of feedback to the European Commission which launched a consultation into the issue in February. The document, which was reviewed by Reuters and has not been published, was compiled by lobbying groups GSMA and ETNO. Telecom operators have lobbied for years for leading technology companies to contribute to funding 5G and broadband roll-out, saying that they use a huge part of the region's internet traffic. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, Apple (AAPL.O), Meta (META.O), Netflix , Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) account for more than half of data internet traffic.

☆ Exclusive: Repsol to invest $550 million in first Italian renewable projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Spanish oil company Repsol (REP.MC) will develop more than 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects in Italy, costing around 500 million euros ($550 million), the company's renewables head told Reuters. The returns available from renewable projects have been under pressure over the past few years due to rising commodity and component costs and supply chain issues. However, Costeira said Repsol's target of double digit returns on renewable investments was still achievable. Repsol said it expected to spend around a quarter of its capital spending on renewable projects this year. The bulk of Repsol's existing renewable portfolio is in Spain with some capacity also in the United States, Chile and Portugal.

☆ These European companies cut jobs this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TECH* ERICSSON (ERICb.ST): the telecom equipment maker will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo seen by Reuters said. * NOKIA (NOKIA.HE): the Finnish telecom equipment maker said on May 3 it plans to cut up to 208 jobs in Finland. * PHILIPS (PHG.AS): the Dutch medical equipment maker on Jan. 30 said it would cut 6,000 jobs to counter falling sales and after a massive recall of its respiratory machines. * SAP (SAPG.DE): the German software company said on Jan. 26 it planned to shed 3,000 jobs, 2.5% of its global workforce, to cut costs and focus on its cloud business. * EVONIK (EVKn.DE): the German specialty chemicals producer said on April 3 it would cut 200 jobs as part of restructuring of its pet food unit.

☆ Hilda Bassey, Nigerian chef, cooks for 100 hours in world record attempt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey has become a national sensation after cooking nonstop for 100 hours, in an attempt to set a world record. The Guinness world record committee still has to confirm that all their criteria have been met and whether Bassey will become the record holder. Bassey told CNN that she was motivated to attempt the record because she wants to put Nigerian food on the map. Nigerian food is such comfort food,” she added. Bassey told CNN that she nearly gave up on the first day, but after surpassing the previous record, she decided to aim for 100 hours.

☆ Grupo Mexico nearing $7 bln deal for Citi's Banamex unit -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Andres Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Banamex bank is on a branch in Mexico City, Mexico, November 17, 2017. As part of the deal, Citi will retain a roughly 10% stake in the Banamex unit, the source said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential. Reuters had reported in February that Grupo Mexico's proposed deal for Banamex could value it at $7 billion or more. Grupo Mexico did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bloomberg reported on talks advancing between Grupo Mexico and Banamex earlier on Wednesday.

☆ Italy's Digital Value sees sales above 1 bln euros by 2025-adviser
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, May 10 (Reuters) - Italian digital services provider Digital Value (DGV.MI) expects to drive sales above 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) by 2025 thanks to rising tech investments by businesses and the public administration, a strategic adviser to the firm said. "It is a target we can achieve," Marco Patuano, a veteran Italian executive who sits on Digital Value's board, told reporters. Such a move could help Digital Value, which specialises in providing digital infrastructure services to big corporate and public administration clients, to play an active role in the sector's consolidation, Patuano said. He said he had received a waiver to keep his board seat at Digital Value and his role as strategic adviser to the company. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina; editing by Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European shares edge higher as energy, bank stocks gain; US inflation data eyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Amruta Khandekar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose 0.2% to 466.29 points by 0805 am GMT. The index was pressured last week when, unlike the Fed, the European Central Bank signalled more rate hikes were on the table. A slump in energy shares on weakness in crude prices also added to the declines. Energy (.SXEP) was the top sectoral gainer on Monday, up 0.8% as crude prices strengthened. Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot on Sunday said the ECB's rate hikes are starting to have an effect, but more will be needed to contain inflation.

☆ Equinor, partners to invest $9 bln in new gas field off Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OSLO, May 8 (Reuters) - Equinor (EQNR.OL) and its partners have decided to invest about $9 billion to develop the BM-C-33 gas and condensate discovery off Brazil Norwegian company said on Monday. The field which is estimated to hold more than one billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent is expected to start production in 2028. "Gas exported from the project could represent 15% of the total Brazilian gas demand at start-up," Equinor said in a statement. Gas from the offshore field will be directly injected into the national gas grid via a 200 kilometres pipeline landing at the city of Macae in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Equinor has a 35% stake in the project, while Repsol Sinopec (REP.MC)(600028.SS) holds 35% and Petrobras (PETR4.SA) the remaining 30%.

☆ Santander sells distressed loan portfolio worth 1.1 bln euros - Expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, May 5 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) has agreed to sell a portfolio of distressed loans with a gross value of 1.1 billion euros ($1.21 billion) to U.S. private equity fund Cerberus and real estate loan manager Axactor, Expansion reported on Friday. The loan portfolio, dubbed 'Spirit project', includes personal loans, some mortgages, and loans to medium and small companies, Expansion said, citing unidentified financial sources. The first loan portfolio, of around 660 million euros, was sold to Gescobro, a Spanish unit of Cerberus, and the second, of around 440 million euros, to Axactor, it said. Santander declined to comment, while Cerberus and Axactor did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Spanish banks were very active in the past in shedding real estate assets that went bad in the economic slump that followed the bursting of Spain's real estate bubble at the end of 2007.

☆ Spain's Caixabank Q1 net profit rises 21% on lending income
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, May 5 (Reuters) - Spain's Caixabank (CABK.MC) said on Friday its net profit rose 21% in the first quarter from the same period in 2022 thanks to a strong increase in lending income and a solid performance of its insurance business. The lender reported a net profit of 855 million euros ($943.83 million) in the January to March period despite a cost of 373 million euros from a new banking tax. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a net profit of 643 million euros. Spanish lenders, including Caixabank (CABK.MC), Sabadell, Santander (SAN.MC), BBVA (BBVA.MC), have legally challenged the tax. Despite economic uncertainty, banks across Europe are benefiting from higher interest rates and Caixabank's net interest income in the quarter rose 49% year-on-year to 2.16 billion euros, beating the 2.02 billion euros analysts expected.

☆ Spain gives Vivendi approval to raise stake in media group Prisa
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Spanish government has given authorisation for Vivendi to exchange the Prisa convertible bonds it acquired in February into equity, Prisa said in a statement. Heavily-indebted Prisa had sold 130 million euros ($143 million) worth of convertible bonds in a move to reduce its debt. Prisa said if Vivendi were the only bondholder to convert its bonds into equity, its stake would rise to 15%. Vivendi had built its stake in Prisa by first acquiring a 7.89% stake from HSBC for 52 million euros ($57.25 million). Prisa's largest single shareholder is activist fund Amber Capital, led by French investor Joseph Oughourlian, with a 29.57% stake, Refinitiv Eikon information shows.

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