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April 11 (Reuters) - Banks that contributed the bulk of $30 billion in deposits to First Republic Bank (FRC.N) plan to set aside about $100 million each in first-quarter earnings in case of potential losses, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. The banks declined to comment. The four largest U.S. banks were among a group of 11 lenders that bolstered First Republic after its shares plunged during the crisis triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Major U.S. banks will begin reporting first-quarter earnings from Friday.

☆ Apple Music down for thousands, other services also affected
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Logo of an Apple store is seen as Apple Inc. reports fourth quarter earnings in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File PhotoApril 10 (Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) music service was facing issues, the iPhone-maker said on its status page on late Monday, while users reported issues with various other services of the company. According to outage tracking website Downdetector.com, services including the support service and Apple store were down for thousands. More than 3,300 users reported issues with streaming Apple Music at the peak of outage, while nearly 2,200 reported problems with App Store in the United States. Apple's status page indicated that Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, and iTunes Match were facing an ongoing "outage."

☆ Gold advances on softer dollar as traders await US inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Kavya Guduru | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,012.30. Traders are now focussing on the U.S. consumer price data due Wednesday for more clarity on the path of rates heading into the Fed's May policy meeting. The opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion rises when interest rates are increased to bring down inflation. "Near-term, there are also bearish technical setups for a corrective move lower" in gold prices, OCBC's Wong added. Data on Tuesday showed top bullion consumer China's March consumer inflation hit the slowest pace since September 2021 and suggested demand weakness persisted amid an uneven economic recovery.

☆ China's first batch of bluechips under new IPO system surge in debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, April 10 (Reuters) - The first batch of blue-chip stocks to list under China's registration-based initial public offering (IPO) system surged in their Monday debut despite tepidness in the broader market. The listing of the 10 companies on the main boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen marks the full roll-out of China's U.S.-style IPO mechanism, designed to make public share sales more market oriented. Under the new rules, no daily trading limit is set for shares listed after an IPO in their first five trading days. Previously, new stocks listed in China's main boards could jump as much as 44% and slump no more than 36% at debut. However, stocks listed on the main boards are still subject to the 10% daily trading limit afterwards.

☆ Conagra lifts profit forecast as price hikes offset demand pressures
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

These price increases have boosted profits at Conagra, which is now also benefiting from easing inflation in commodity prices including those of meat and other proteins. However, higher grocery and food prices have forced some consumers to trade down from branded packaged food products to cheaper, private-label alternatives, denting sales volumes at Conagra. That prompted the company to trim the top end of its annual organic net sales forecast to a 7% to 7.5% rise, compared with a 7% to 8% growth estimated earlier. Credit Suisse analysts have also warned that Conagra sales could decelerate faster compared to its peers in full-year 2024, owing to the company's exposure to price-sensitive, lower-income consumers. Conagra said it expected fiscal 2023 adjusted per-share profit between $2.70 and $2.75, compared with its prior forecast of $2.60 to $2.70.

☆ Apple to open first company-owned retail store in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, April 5 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is set to open its first official retail store in India's financial hub of Mumbai, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday. The Cupertino, California-based company launched an online retail store in India in 2020. Its 2021 plans for the launch of an offline retail store in the country were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple products have been sold in India for years on ecommerce platforms such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Walmart Inc's (WMT.N) Flipkart as well as through resellers. Some products in Apple's catalogue, including iPhones, are assembled in India by Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturers Foxconn (2317.TW) and Wistron Corp (3231.TW).

GM shares were trading down nearly 2% at midday, even though CFO Paul Jacobson said demand for GM's trucks and SUVs remains strong in the United States. GM has been able to raise prices in the United States over the past two years as supply chain bottlenecks kept production in check. GM will cut production to keep inventories in check, Jacobson said. GM has three battery factories in North America, and will announce the location of a fourth domestic battery plant soon, he said. Jacobson added that the company was going to have to "prioritize down" on growth businesses to focus on preserving cash.

Companies Cummins Inc FollowApril 3 (Reuters) - Cummins Inc (CMI.N) said on Monday it would invest more than $1 billion across its U.S. engine manufacturing network to upgrade some facilities to support new clean energy technologies. Cummins said the investment would go towards its facilities in Indiana, North Carolina and New York, to upgrade its clean energy technology including fuel-agnostic engine platforms that would run on low-carbon fuels like natural gas, diesel and eventually hydrogen. The Columbus, Indiana-based company, known for its diesel and natural gas engines, has accelerated its push towards clean energy solutions to sell to its industrial and commercial transportation customers, as the trucking industry is expected to face tougher greenhouse emissions regulations this year. The $1 billion announced is in addition to the investment of $1.5 billion that the engine maker announced last month. Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Extra Space to buy Life Storage for $12.7 bln in self-storage mega deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Pratyush Thakur | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage (EXR.N) said on Monday it will acquire Life Storage (LSI.N) for $12.7 billion in a deal that will result in the combined company becoming the largest U.S. self-storage space operator by store count. Life Storage, which operates more than 1,150 storage facilities in 37 states and the District of Columbia, in February turned down a $11 billion all-stock takeover bid from Public Storage (PSA.N). Life Storage shares were up 3.5%, while Extra Space shares were down 5.1%. On deal close, Extra Space and Life Storage shareholders are expected to own about 65% and 35% of the combined company. The board of Extra Space will be expanded from 10 directors to 12 and consist of three directors from Life Storage.

☆ EV maker Rivian misses first-quarter production estimates; shares drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike BlakeApril 3 (Reuters) - Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) on Monday missed first-quarter production estimates as the electric-vehicle maker grappled with supply chain constraints, sending its shares down 4% in early trade. Rivian produced 9,395 vehicles at its Normal plant in the quarter ended March, compared with Visible Alpha's consensus estimates of 10,030 vehicles. Reuters GraphicsThe Irvine, California-based company, however, reiterated its annual production target of 50,000. The electric-vehicle maker has been losing money on every vehicle it builds, and narrowly missed its annual production target of 25,000 units last year. Electric-car maker Tesla (TSLA.O) on Sunday said it delivered 422,875 vehicles in the quarter ended March, up 4% from the previous quarter.

☆ Macy's CEO Gennette to retire next year, insider Spring to succeed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Macy's Inc (M.N) on Wednesday said its Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette will retire in February, after serving the U.S. department store chain for 40 years and will be succeeded by insider Tony Spring. Spring, who is the chairman and CEO of Macy's unit Bloomingdale's, has been with the company for 36 years. He was named as a successor to Gennette after an internal and external search, Macy's said. Macy's said as part of the leadership transition, Chief Financial Officer Adrian Mitchell's responsibilities have been expanded to include the role of chief operating officer. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Carl Icahn wants to bring back Illumina's ex-CEO -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A sign at the front entrance to the global headquarters of Illumina is pictured in San Diego, California, U.S., November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Mike BlakeMarch 29 (Reuters) - Carl Icahn wants former Illumina (ILMN.O) CEO Jay Flatley back at the U.S. life sciences firm, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, as the activist investor intensifies his proxy fight that was launched earlier this month. In an interview with the WSJ, Icahn signaled that Illumina "should bring Flatley back as CEO immediately". Icahn and Illumina did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reporting by Leroy Leo and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Macy's CEO Gennette to retire in Feb next year, insider Spring to succeed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Macy's Inc (M.N) on Wednesday said its Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette will retire in February 2024, after serving the company for 40 years. The company said Bloomingdale's chairman and CEO Tony Spring has been appointed by the board to succeed Gennette. Shares of the department store chain fell about 2% in premarket trading. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple launches buy now, pay later service in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The service, Apple Pay Later, will allow users to split purchases into four payments spread over six weeks with no interest or fees, the company said. "Apple Pay Later will absolutely wallop some of the other players. Hewson added that Apple Pay Later will be a disruptor as consumers are looking for the easiest way to get what they want, as their wallets have been stretched by inflation. BNPL firm Affirm Holdings Inc's (AFRM.O) shares fell more than 7%, while PayPal was down about 1.5% in midday trading. Apple Pay Later is enabled through the Mastercard Installments program, the company said, adding that Goldman Sachs (GS.N) was the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential.

☆ Energy, industrial stocks lift TSX; Lundin Mining jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"But here it seems the market likes the deal and is giving a thumbs up with respect to the acquisition." ET (14:10 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was up 61.34 points, or 0.31%, at 19,686.08. Energy stocks (.SPTTEN) added 0.8%, tracking oil prices amid supply disruption risks from Iraqi Kurdistan. Still, the bourse is up for the quarter underpinned by gains from January as equities bounced back from previous year's losses. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 28 (Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) said on Tuesday it does not plan to increase wages further, as a shortage of pharmacists eases after the company doubled down on hiring and pay raises last year. A labor shortage during the pandemic prompted Walgreens and other U.S. drugstore operators, including CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) and Walmart Inc (WMT.N), to raise minimum wages to $15 per hour to attract pharmacists. Shares of the company rose 4.3% to $34.37 in midday trading. The health segment saw a sharp increase in revenue to $1.6 billion, driven by the deals. Reporting by Leroy Leo and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Viking joins obesity drug race after promising early trial data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Mariam Esunny | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 28 (Reuters) - Viking Therapeutics Inc's (VKTX.O) experimental obesity drug helped reduce weight and was safe in an early-stage study, the company said on Tuesday, sparking a 60% rise in its shares. While Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) already has its obesity drug, Wegovy, in the market, Eli Lilly is expecting approval for its treatment later this year. That could also make Viking a potential acquisition target, Laidlaw & Company analyst Yale Jen said. Viking said it was planning to test higher doses of the drug over a longer treatment window in a mid-stage trial, versus a shorter limit in the current, early-stage trial. Shares of Viking were trading at $14.15, bringing the drugmaker closer to a market capitalization of $1 billion.

March 28 (Reuters) - Canada's Crescent Point Energy Corp (CPG.TO) said on Tuesday it would acquire Spartan Delta Corp's (SDE.TO) oil and gas assets in Alberta's Montney region for C$1.7 billion ($1.24 billion). Crescent Point shares dipped 0.7% in Toronto, while Spartan stock gained nearly 8%. Crescent Point said it is looking to reduce net debt by about C$1 billion over the next 12 months and may also sell assets. Crescent Point also produces oil in the province of Saskatchewan. Crescent Point raised its production outlook to 160,000 to 166,000 boepd from the earlier forecast of 138,000 to 142,000 boepd.

☆ Crown Resorts' data vendor hacked, limited number of its files impacted
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest casino operator Crown Resorts said on Monday it was investigating a data breach at its third-party file transfer service, GoAnywhere, in which hackers obtained a limited number of Crown's files. "We were recently contacted by a ransomware group who claimed they have illegally obtained a limited number of Crown files," a spokesperson of the formerly listed firm said in a statement. "We can confirm no customer data has been compromised and our business operations have not been impacted." Suspicious activity at GoAnywhere was identified by U.S. cybersecurity firm Fortra nearly two months ago, that offers the service, and has impacted many organisations including mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.AX). Crown Resorts was bought out in a $6.3 billion deal by U.S. private equity giant Blackstone Inc last June.

☆ Rental car firm Hertz's finance chief Cheung to quit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - Rental car firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ.O) said on Monday its Chief Financial Officer Kenny Cheung was leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. The company said Chief Accounting Officer Alexandra Brooks will serve as interim finance chief, effective April 1. Shares of the company, which operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental brands, were up 1.3% before the bell. Cheung's departure comes at a time when Hertz's profitability has come under pressure in recent months due to higher car maintenance costs. Cheung will remain in the company until April 14, the company said, as it kicked starts a formal search process for a new CFO.

☆ TSX opens week higher as banking crisis fears ebb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ET (14:03 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was up 62.9 points, or 0.32%, at 19,564.39. "First Citizens' announcement of the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank instilled a broad sense of confidence and calm in the stability of the banking system." The energy sector (.SPTTEN) added 0.3%, tracking strength in crude oil prices. If gains hold, the TSX is on course to eke out a gain of 0.9% for the quarter ending in March. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rio Tinto data vendor GoAnywhere's possible breach spotted in Jan-end
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. cybersecurity firm Fortra said suspicious activity was identified within its GoAnywhere software nearly two months ago, a day after Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) in a staff memo said personal data of some of its Australian employees may have been stolen. "We immediately took multiple steps to address this, including implementing a temporary outage of this service to prevent any further unauthorized activity." Fortra declined to comment on specific customers when asked about Rio Tinto, but said it was notifying potentially affected customers who may have been impacted and coordinating with the U.S.' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Over the past few weeks, a host of global firms and government institutions have reported cybersecurity incidents linked to GoAnywhere, a vendor providing data transfer services and owned by Minnesota-based Fortra. Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hong Kong makes new rules for specialist tech firm listings, cuts rev threshold
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 24 (Reuters) - The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) said on Friday it had framed new listing rules for specialist technology companies, adopting a lower revenue threshold for these firms set out in earlier proposals. The bourse operator, a unit of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (0388.HK), said it would welcome applications operating in frontier industries, including new energy, robotics, semiconductors, quantum computing, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and new food and agriculture technologies. A commercialised company should have no less than HK$6 billion ($764.38 million) in market capitalisation, according to the rules, lower than HK$8 billion stipulated in a consultation last October. These rules are designed to retain the attractiveness of Hong Kong's capital markets amid continued geopolitical tensions. ($1 = 7.8495 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Poonam Behura in Bangalore and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Musk denies report on SpaceX's plans for new funding from Saudi, UAE
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 24 (Reuters) - Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, on Friday denied a media report from earlier this week that said investors from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were planning to invest in a multi-billion dollar funding round in the company. A unit of Saudi Arabia's investment fund and an Abu Dhabi-based company are planning to invest in a multi-billion dollar funding round for SpaceX, the Information had reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions. Musk tweeted "not true" responding to the report. The funding round is expected to value the rocket maker at about $140 billion, the report added. SpaceX raised $2 billion in 2022 and $2.6 billion in 2020, according to venture capital firm Space Capital.

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